Get Crafty-Or Just Buy It

Yes, crafting is (and has been) back to hip for some time. What if you've a) become so entranced that you have more extras of your creations than friends and family can handle or b) are entranced by the idea but too hapless and overscheduled to make something right now and you have several birthdays and the holidays looming? You can stop by Etsy, a place where you buy and sell cool handmade stuff. Bags, kids' stuff, clothes, trinkets, arty accessories, all updated all day long as people post their newest treasures. Some offer you the chance to customize the fabric or style, for a one-of-a-kind look that may prompt people to ask, "Did you make that?" "Well, I made it possible..."

Ja, Oktoberfest

Why not reach for a theme that's fun and easy and create your own Biergarten this month? A few kegs, some carb-heavy dishes, a bit of stein racing in the backyard, all set to the strains of peppy polka and, of course "The Chicken Dance." Lederhosen optional but very appreciated. Anyone out there throwing it down German-style this fall?

Ice cream season isn't over...

...at least, it won't be when you try this. I saw this at the very cool Star Provisions and finally tried it yesterday: vanilla soft-serve ice cream topped with olive oil (small drizzle) and sea salt (a sprinkle.)

Whoa. Buttery, salty-sweet goodness and the feeling of trying something that the less adventurous would dismiss with a "gross" and a grimace. Easy enough to replicate at home also...I'd bring home the soft serve and garnish since I lack the patience to fire up the ice cream maker when a craving strikes.

Polish pleasure

To piggy-back on the last post (or chicken-back, as the case may be),roast chicken is a wondrous thing. Not only cheap and tasty, but bones for stock and soup the next day. Plus, it's getting very close to that time of year (in the North) when you don't mind turning on the oven for an hour or so.
I read an article in Food and Wine about comfort foods by the Chicago wunder-chef Grant Achatz where he served Roast chicken with homemade pierogies (polish potato dumplings). I made them, and they are great. Plus it solves the "should we have potatoes or pasta?" dilemma. Try this link for the recipe: www.foodandwine.com/recipes/mustardy-potato-pierogies

Tasty Stories

I'll admit, my slender cookbook collection doesn't get nearly the use of the righteously food-spattered library that belongs to my sister. But I do like to read them...the ones that have really good stories instead of an overload of glossy pictures (those can get depressing.) I just heard about this one that has just become available in the US: a British hit called ROAST CHICKEN AND OTHER STORIES. Head Butler quoted the following passage, which made me drool a little even though I am sitting in Florida in the exact opposite of this kind of weather:

My mother makes really good potato cakes. They are sort of misshapen, soft, gooey, and floury. They are at their best eaten on a Sunday afternoon, melting in front of the fire in their pool of butter. It should be winter, about 5 PM, dark outside, and a Marx Brothers film has just finished on the television.

Maybe it's just that butter. What little nugget of a setting could you give your favorite recipe? Bring 'em on!

If you're making cookies, please stick it in the fridge

I recently forgot that I had promised to bring cookies to a baby shower at work. This was at around 9:30pm on the night before the shower. Thoughts of the Vietnamese bakery down the street swirled in my head, but my pride wouldn't let me: I will stay true to the Homespun, readers.
The solution? Refrigerator cookies. Flour, butter, sugar, vanilla, rolled up in a tube shape and thrown in the fridge. The next morning, I turned on the oven when I got up, sliced those lil' buggers, threw an almond on top and baked for 6 min. By the time I was done with my coffee,the whole batch was done. I had lined the trays with parchment paper, so there was no clean up, and I was actually on time for work.
I had a vision of myself in 10 years, finding the crumpled note in the kid's backpack at 11 at night saying "bring cookies tomorrow" and I knew: No bake sale will EVER bring me down.

Sweet and Lowdown

For stylish ladies with a bit of an edge, Locher's is worth a visit. One could even take inspiration from these designs and get stitching oneself...Warning: if you are one of those readers who are sensitive to swearing (or, as our Mother would say, if you didn't work summers in a restaurant like we did and come home with Trucker Mouth for life,) this might not tickle you.

Feeling isolated? Get knocked up (or a beach ball)

If you've ever felt alone...cut off from the people you pass every day...or that you just don't get to talk to strangers enough, having a pregnant form gives you a pass to be everyone's friend. It's downright homespun how, even in the middle of a huge city, people you have never met will drop what they are doing to offer you a greeting, commentary, or 'advice.' I've been keeping a little list of some of the most memorable quips I've gotten, and here are a few:

"How many do you have in there?" (One, it just looks like a litter)
"Wow, I'll be you'll be good at breastfeeding." (Or maybe a career in adult films)
"You don't mind if I touch it, do you?) (Now that you are, it would be rude to slap you.)
"Have all the coffee you want, but don't go bowling" (And let the league down?)
"Have you ordered your epidural yet?" (I'll order it along with your tact medicine)

Any of you in homespun land made similar connections?

Shrimp-tastic

Why should a shrimp be just for 'special occasions?' They're delicious, low-cal, and give any meal a touch of Classiness. If you can get the local variety, so much the tastier.

My sister has devised the ultimate preparation method, used to great success at my wedding (actual guest quote: "We had our reception at the Four Seasons and the food wasn't half as good as this. Especially that shrimp. Mmm.")

Go to it.

Take the shells off fresh shrimp and boil them in water and some white wine, beer and spices for 20 min. Strain the shells out and keep the water. Bring this to a boil, then add the peeled uncooked shrimp, and immediately turn off the heat and cover. Let them sit for 8 min., then drain and chill.

Best shrimp ever- the shells have all the sea taste, but it takes them 20 min. to release their flavah. If you cook the shrimp that long, you’re eating pencil rubbers. This is the best of both worlds.

Homespun vs. Heat Wave

It's no news that it pretty much feels like living on the surface of Mars for much of us this summer (take that, those who thought Al Gore was exaggerating!) I have never been so thankful for air conditioning in my life, especially following a recent outage that made me wonder how in the world anyone kept their sanity without it. But, if you have to do without, or just want to try to keep cool on the eco-friendly and frugal side, what do you do?

Here are some of my favorites:

1) Tons and tons of water, jazzed up with lime, mint, fruit pieces, splashes of juice
2) Powder - unscented baby or your favorite fragrance, Bumble and Bumble Hair Powder gives a pretty good lift to your 'do as well.
3) Hide in movie theater or head to generally avoided shopping mall with iPod and good book to read in the food court.
4) Run ice cold water over your wrists at your pulse point, or dab said area with ice cube. Oooh!
5) Put away the black clothes for a bit, as painful and challenging as this may be to your style.
6) Put your sheets in a plastic bag and toss them in the freezer for a couple hours before bed. Works especially well with cotton.
7) Live like professional heat-beaters of extreme climates: get up super-early, do everything outside before 9, stay hidden indoors with blinds drawn until after 5.

What are you doing to Cool It Now?

Start your day on the airy side

Meet my new breakfast obsession: The huevos Emilia. Warm one side of a corn torilla in a dry skillet, flip it over and throw on some black bean dip and cheese (this one happens to feature Velveeta-my guilty pleasure). In the same pan on the side, fry up an egg and throw it on top of the torilla. Add salsa (mine is just cut up cherry tomatoes and parsley). Prepare to be awed, satisfied and relatively virtuous feeling: upon researching this blog, that bean dip is only 20 calories, and you know what that means- MORE VELVEETA. Mmmmmm.

Can Jam'07

Some readers have pointed out to me that the pickling onions concept sounds hard. Au contraire, mon frere (et mes soeurs). Pickling is just shoving the vegetables in a jar, mixing up vinegar and spices, pouring into said jar, and boiling it for 10 min or so. You don't even need special equipment, although like a jog-bra with dry-wick fabric, it does make the experience a little nicer. And it's not too expensive- on amazon.com they have the complete kit for $35.00 or so, and that's everything. You could get by with just the tongs that lift the jars out of the water.

Don't be afraid.....come to the canning world....don't be afraid.....resistance is futile.....

The Starbucks-ization of the Home Bar

You've heard of "Starbucks-ization", right? Take something simple and cheap (cup of coffee for 50 cents), sexy it up (grande latte) and sell it for much, much more ($4.29). Well, I'm not necessarily for that, but I have to say the home bar has just gotten a serious, Starbucks-level upgrade.
It's canning season, boys and girls, and the household spent this week pickling garnishes for the home bar. Jalapenos for western-style martinis, Dilled green beans for bloody Marys, and pickled onions for the ol'fashioned Gibson. It's great to make fabulous drinks at home, but even better to garnish them with something other than the teeny olives out of the little jar. I'm telling you, those pickled onions swimming in gin bring tears to my eyes (and not because of the onion- they're very mellow pickled). Beautiful. Tasty. Homespun. Gin. Mmmmm.....

A Perfect Pair

Try to restrain yourself from hightailing it to Whole Paycheck in search of this one, especially if your name is Emily: the prettily packaged and terrifically tasty Vosges chocolate line (I did a taste test of prime chocolates for a magazine and two of their flavors topped the list) has now been enhanced with one of nature's most perfect foods:
Bacon.

If you grew up in Maple Syrup land like we did, you know how perfect a sweet touch goes with a nice, salty piece o'pork (or turkey or faux meat if you are on the wagon.) I'm guessing this will rock many a world - and that it tastes a lot better than chocolate potato chips.

Still too hot...

...so I'll let someone else do the work. The Boston Globe mentioned this website: http://www.hertzmann.com/. This is a guy who has a blog and just wrote a book on knife skills, which apparently is incredibly detailed. Even if you don't need to know 6 ways to slice an onion (although it's pretty cool), check out the "tools" section of his website: not only is there a great measurement conversion calculator, there's also one for brining. Don't forget about it when you're standing out in the snow over the Coleman cooler the night before Thanksgiving...

too hot....can't blog......

Seriously. I can barely move around. I think I may only eat cereal and ice cream today, and good thing I made ice cream at the beginning of the week when it was not in the mid 90's in a town (and apt.) that's not regularly air-conditioned. I made a Mexican Chocolate Ice cream out of this book:
by David Lebovitz. It's a great book of unusual but accessible recipes, and his copy is pretty funny. The "Aztec" ice cream incorporates cinnamon and cayenne pepper, and he did warn that you should add a little bit and wait, as the pepper tends to get hotter as it sits. I added the minimum amount, but he wasn't kidding. It's a bizarre sensation to eat something cold and creamy that also makes your mouth burn, but maybe it's a good thing. Hot weather locales tend to eat spicy food so they can sweat out the heat, right? Excuse me while I sit very still, lick my ice cream cone, and gently perspire.

A chicken in every pot

That's a campaign slogan that needs a comeback- maybe Edwards will adapt it to his folksy style. I've been buying small whole chickens and roasting them in the early morning when it's not too hot (no air condition in the kitchen this summer, so you've got to plan ahead). After it's done, throw it in the fridge, have it for dinner and let the leftovers roll you through the dog days of summer. I have to admit, I've been off chicken for a while simply because I work at an elementary school, and chicken seems to be the only protein (except for hot dogs) the boys will eat. During the summer, the teacher tries to keep as far away from all things school as possible. I'm back, though , and with a vengeance: it's so tasty, and you can vary it a little each time. I always jam a little butter under the skin for tenderness, and I've mixed it with fresh herbs from the city garden (plot of dirt next to the hose), gone Asian with ginger and garlic in the butter, soy sauce on top, and summery with lemon and rosemary. They're all good. After dinner, pull the meat off, boiling the carcass with some water, add any leftover rice/noodles/veg, etc. and freeze: you've got yourself a nice lunch once winter rolls around and the only thing going on in the city garden is a pile of dirty snow.

Throwaway yet Museum-Worthy

I think the tendency to stock up on condiments whenever possible is genetic, a quirk you get from your mother. I have it (well, a modified version) and felt validated to discover that those little tubs and packets cannot only save your life (a man trapped in his car in a remote location once ate Taco Bell hot sauce and ketchup for days, true story) but are also mini works of art.

They must be, because they have their own online museum. I especially like the honey, and was surprised to find that there is a Finding Nemo hot sauce...thought he would be more suited to Tartar.

For Bastille Day, Bien Fait

I'll come right out and say it: I LOVE the French. No freedom fries for this girl. They are so unapolagetically who they are, and really tres homespun in their eating and entertaining habits. Here are a few cool present ideas from our book...the opposite of cliche, they're Bien Fait (sort of French for Crafty!)

1) Instead of a tired boxed perfume set (or, heaven forbid, another freakin' scented candle,) think for five minutes and come up with an emergency kit that fits the recipient. For the person whose cell phone is always dying, get them a CellBoost charger, a phone card, and a fake candy phone. For the friend who goes on a sugar binge when things go badly, box up a selection of old-timey sweets. And, for the gal who’s always rooting through your purse for supplies, Tampax, Advil, a mini sewing kit and a versatile lipstick.

2) Handkerchiefs in a box are about the saddest gift in the world to me. They seem to murmur, "Daddy, I don't really know you enough to buy you anything you'd really want." Make them happy again by “monogramming” the same set using your computer and iron-on paper. Pithy phrases such as “This Blows” would be nice.

Why in the world would you shop at a thrift store?

Prada, Thomas Pink, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Ann Taylor, Tommy Hilfinger, Polo Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Ferragamo, Kenneth Cole, Lily Pulitzer, Pucci…am I getting all wistful about walks down Rodeo Drive, the Champs Elysées, or Fifth Avenue?

Not on your life. These brands are all trophies I’ve scored during secondhand shopping safaris, with stops at stores including Goodwill and Salvation Army.
Eww. I hear noses wrinkling. Before you let them freeze there and resign yourself to paying retail, consider this:

1) The designers who work to create the top end stuff either troll and/or send out crews to secondhand stores all the time, in search of inspiration. Kind of like pearl divers looking for treasure beneath the barnacles. Sometimes you need to hold your breath for a while, but the payoff is pretty nice.

2) What you find here will most likely, never, ever, be seen on anyone else attending the same party.

3) With vintage pieces score pieces of fashion history …and you can make up an enchanting history for them. “This is what Gran wore to the Easter Egg roll at the white house during the JFK years….”

4) The places you’re shopping probably aren’t owned by a giant, global conglomerate, but, instead, are local and often charitable, which gives you the rosy glow of helping your community.

5) By reusing and repurposing clothes that are already created, you’re an eco-warrior – but with stylish clothes.

6) You won’t just find vintage treasures…I’ve picked up many an item from a season ago, some with tags still attached. Stores and dry cleaners often distribute their extras to non-profits for the tax write off. Right on!

7) For the price of lunch and a sweater at soulless mall you can come home with bags of stuff… treasure that will cause people to stop you on the street for compliments.

Stay tuned for the secrets of savvy thrifting....

Living it up and Slumming it down

Sometimes you want to take the time to make the best possible food you can, and then there are the times when you go with what you know. This was discussed last night when I made strawberry shortcake.







no, not that one.

I was going to go with a complicated shortcake recipe, cutting in the butter, sifting, etc., but then I realized two things. 1: I didn't feel like doing all that. 2. I had Bisquick in the pantry.
So I whipped me up some Bisquick and we were enjoying the season's best in 12 min. flat. I did cull a good tip from the fancy cookbook however, mash some of the strawberries and mix in with the sliced- this way you don't have the unfortunately "slide off" problem.

The experience got us thinking, and so I'll end my post with a question, Carrie Bradshaw-style: Which foods are worth the extra effort, and which are best straight out of the box?

Catholicism and Blue Cheese

Two great things that taste great together? No, just the curious link between guilt and food. Here's the story:

Recently, I've been on a steakhouse kick: red meat for sure, but mostly that old-timey
salad of iceberg lettuce wedge and blue cheese dressing. My
sister-in-law makes a kick ass blue cheese dressing. She wrote the
recipe down for me once (I think it included soy sauce and orange
juice), but I've seen her cook and she is more of a Jackson Pollock

than a Piet Mondrian:

lots of improv and tasting, to hell with the rules. Consequently, mine has never tasted the same.
I
set out to make a new batch and figured I'd go to the gold standard:
"America's Test Kitchen" cookbook. For those not familiar, this is a
book that takes a standard recipe and tests it hundreds of times in any
permutation until it's perfect. I don't always use it because I'm often
too lazy to go through all the extra steps it will list to get that
perfection, but when I want something I know will be great, it's the
source. Plus, their blue cheese dressing recipe was easy: mash some
blue cheese, buttermilk and garlic, add sour cream and mayonnaise.
Great! Except I didn't have buttermilk, so I used regular milk, and
then realized I didn't have sour cream, so I used low fat plain yogurt,
and then crap! No mayonnaise. So I just added a little more yogurt. Let
it sit for a bit, break open the iceberg and .....it's great. Really
great. And it gets better the more it sits. So I patted myself on the
back for a job well done, "Iron Chef" style, felt slightly guilty
(Catholic upbringing) for eating blue cheese dressing at two out of
three meals a day, but put it to the back of my mind. Until itoccurred
to me: this dressing is healthy! Lots of happy yogurt cultures! Low fat
dairy! Calcium! And a little penicillin from the blue cheese!

Try it. You'll never feel bad again.

6 oz. blue cheese, crumbled
1/2c. milk
1 minced garlic clove
1/2 and little more of yogurt (plain)
2 TBSP rice vinegar (white will work too)
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
pepper.

Mash the cheese, milk and garlic to make a paste. Add everything else. Eat and feel virtuous.

More deviling

Pickle juice is also a good addition to any mayo-based treat. Try it in potato salad, egg salad, macaroni salad- you get the idea.
For the devilish type: Some other additions to try are curry (good for your fanciest tailgates), bacon (good on anything), or mashed avocado for a little health boost/guacamole spin.

Shamed, and Deviled

Yes, my excuse for being MIA in forum-land is indeed what used to be called a 'delicate condition'. One of the many delightful outgrowths of this condition has been a recent obsession with creating the perfect deviled egg. Who doesn't like these? Perfect for the summer cookout (as long as you don't leave them in the heat too long), an appetizer that always pleases. Too bad making them yourself is so time-consuming, but, even the lazier Homespun Sister has to admit the homemade ones are far and away better than your pre-made supermarket creations.

Want to know a secret? After making many batches, getting input from people's Southern Mamas (one said: I just put Hellman's mayo, a bit of lemon juice and a bit of Dijon mustard in mine- topped with anything like chopped parsley, fresh
chives-caviar- whatever! Some people add relish or chopped green olives to the basic mixture.-") I have hit upon the Holy Grail ingredient: PICKLE JUICE. This isn't just a pregnancy talking. When you mix up your yolks, Mayo (I like Duke's), powdered mustard, celery salt and pepper, toss in some of the juice from your favorite pickle jar, be it dill or sweet (just never serve me the sweet without a warning, or you may have to clean deviled egg off your floor.)

public shaming and baby food

In an effort to get the other half of the homespun urban team back on the blogging saddle, so to speak, here's a topical query for the readers: What about making your own baby food? Yes, there will soon be a homespun baby on the way, and perhaps it's because it's not my baby, but it seems kind of silly to pay for baby food. Why not just buy the fruits and veggies in season, cook them, and puree? Wouldn't it be cheaper and better? Are there readers out there who snort at this idea and say "sure, let me see you and your homemade babyfood when you haven't slept for three days and you're covered in baby spit." I'm not mad, I'm just asking.

A salad for all seasons

I just made a salad that is pretty amazing, given its humble ingredient list. Like many good ideas, this one was born of necessity- I needed a salad for a dinner and all I had in the house for vegetables was carrots, canned beets, and canned chickpeas. I did a quick recipe search, got some general ideas and came up with this:
Cut carrots into thin sticks. Rinse chick peas and dry. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and cumin. Roast in a single layer in a 375 oven for about 20-30 min. Add the beets in the last 10min, also tossed in the oil mixture. Let cool while you're fixing the rest of dinner. Toss with some vinegar, a little more oil if you want, and that's it! I know it doesn't sound that exciting, but this is one where the product is so more exciting than its written description. (And even if you're not a huge fan of chick peas, try it: roasting them makes them crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside. It will wipe away all memories of the chick peas on the Super Bar at Wendy's..) Plus, it tastes fresh, but is available all year long. Some variation include serving it over fresh lettuce, toss in some goat cheese, blue cheese, nuts, whatever. Tasty, good for you, and makes you pee red the next day- a fine salad all around.

We have growth. Repeat: We have growth.

Something is growing by the back fence/neighbor's yard- I'm not 100% sure if it's snap peas or morning glories, but I'm leaning towards peas. Who knew? Apparently the house is not sitting on a former nuclear power plant/thermometer factory/toxic waste dump. Stay tuned, sports fans.

WWJD in the bathroom?

I'd like to think he'd wash thoroughly...

Your homespun garden

True confessions: This is an area of homespun living that is my
weakness. Not weakness in the sense of "oh, I can't help myself, I love
to garden", weakness in the sense of "every green thing I touch dies".
But hope and the desire for a decent tomato that doesn't cost $4.98
springs eternal, so I've started to urban garden. Two containers oftomatoes
, herbs, assorted flowers are on the porch and on top of the garage.
I've flung seeds of morning glories, beans, and sunflowers in the dirt
near the fence to see what will grow. While digging in the dirt I found
some shards of what looked like someone's grandma's serving platters, which makes me wonder if I'm growing "Sweet 100's" or "Contaminated Leaddys". Anyone know how to test soil?

Stayed tuned, sports fans: if anything actually grows, I'll let you know.

I scream for ice cream?

I scream for Ice Cream? Dude, I almost wet my pants. It's the first day of decent, no, even NICE weather here in Boston, so to celebrate I dusted off the ol' ice cream maker and churned out a butter nut crunch that is so good it's hard to put into words. I guess 5 C. of whole milk and cream couldn't possibly be a bad thing, but add almonds, walnuts and pistachios to the mix and that stuff is off the hook. I also used a really corse salt when I cooked the nuts in butter (oh yeah), and I love the outcome. The salt doesn't melt into the ice cream but isn't quite crunchy, so you get a delicious salty sweet mix. You can't even imagine. Seriously.

Happy Homespun Easter, Nip-Hunters

Start old school: the whole family colors Easter Eggs the night before, and then the adults hide them around the lawn the next morning.

The nip hunt, however, brings the fun back for the adults. Side Bar: For those that don't know, a "nip" is not something dirty (for shame!), it’s one of those baby bottles of booze tucked on airplanes and in minibars. In New England they're called "nips," and that just sounds fun. Back to the hunt. Go out and bought assorted nips, quality ranging from Day-Glo flavored schnapps all the way up to a good single malt and a tiny replica of the Chambord bottle.

After the kids find their eggs, give them the nips and had them hide them on us. Nothing says “Easter” like the a flock of 10-12 year olds running around the lawn in their finest toting handfuls of booze. (Your neighbors will really love this. Especially if you do it in the halls of an apartment building.) Even our mother, who is a teetotaler of the highest degree (recurring quote “I don’t see why you girls think you need to drink to have fun,”) was turning over large piles of leaves to score that tiny Chambord.

The kids loved turning the tables on the adults, the adults loved the hunt and the after-hunt. It’s just like being a kid again - only with the adult reward of a beautiful cocktail

The $27.95 meal for only $5!

Everyone loves to get something for nothing, or at least something for cheap. In the New England area there is a grocery store called Market Basket that's known for being really cheap, especially in the meat department. In fact, the best part of the meat department at MB is what's called the "Primal Cut"- basically a side of animal for under $30, or close to that. The latest take at the MB was one lamb shank. I cooked it down with some red wine that had been open for too long, carrots and celery, balsamic vinegar and some broth and served it over mashed potatoes. I love the "slow and low" style of cooking, and if I saw that entree at a nice restaurant, I'd order it and probably pay in the $20 and up range (at least in Boston). However:

Shank: $2.37
Potatoes: $.75
Broccoli side: $.79

The sweet satisfaction of a great meal for damn cheap: Priceless

Lunch? It's in the bag!

Or, "Bag your frozen dinner and make lunch!" or "Brown bag is the new black!". So many cheesy titles, so little time.
Our Mom used to cut an apple in half, core it and put peanut butter where the core used to be, then stick it back together- that's always good. She also used to make the sandwiches on frozen bread so it would stay fresh and defrost by lunch, or freeze a juice box and use that as an ice pack.
Illustrator Kathleen makes homemade soup, then freezes it in small batches when she has a rehearsal after work. She then goes to any convenience store and uses their microwave to heat it up. The added benefits of the 7-11? "Free spoons and salt and pepper!" I guess you buy a slim jim if you're feeling guilty....

Art of the Bag

...lunch, that is. In an attempt to eat healther and stop dropping $10 on stuff that's often not worth it, I've been in search of the perfect combinations...something that will hold up without extreme refrigeration, fit in my laptop bag, and not be all that much work to prepare.

I've been emulating one of my favorite items on the Starbucks 'menu': a few pieces of cheese, apple wedges, grapes, and some toasted nuts (Note: this is monkey-easy. Put a nonstick pan on the stove, turn the heat to medium low, and warm up those nuts, shaking occasionally, for a few minutes. No need to oil the pan since they have plenty of oils all by their nut-ness.) Another winner seems to be a variety of fruit, vegetable and leftovers wrapped in rice paper, Thai/Vietnamese style. And, today I brought some celery sticks and the now famous "I'm Telling You, I'm Not Chicken" drumettes with a little dressing. But I get so bored. Don't know how I managed to eat the same lunch for 8 years in grade school (peanut butter and fluff, may explain why I am shorter than everyone else in the family.)

Any current favorites out there? What rocks your lunchbox? Do you have a really cool lunchbox that motivates you to pack your own?

Homespun Urban Travel Rule #2

Eat what the locals eat. I will be going on a length about this when I get some time (and more bandwidth), but in Frankfurt (where I am now), during intermission at the opera you can eat huge soft pretzels and beer. At the opera. Now that's a good time.

Homespun Travel Commandment #1

bb
Originally uploaded by kaytwhy.

It has been a far-flung week for the Homespun Girls, who are thousands of miles apart and having all kinds of adventures. Someone was just asking me why I always have a really good time on every trip I take, even though most of those are for business. There are a lot of reasons, but I'd say the top of the list is: Thou Shalt Not Ever Eat in the Hotel Unless Too Sick To Move. Seriously, the food is pretty much always awful to mediocre, it costs way too much, and you deprive yourself of the many pleasures that are waiting right outside the front desk. If you get out and actually see where you are, you'll feel like you've been somewhere.

OK, that's perhaps a little too Zen. Here's an example: in Chicago, after hot-dogging it for lunch, I walked around the block and ran right into BackStage Bistro. It's operated by students at the Culinary Arts Program of the Illinois Institue of Art, and they are all apparently superstars. You sit in a chic space where you can view the theatrics of food preparation behind giant glass walls, and your servers know so much about the different choices, you feel you've been schooled in the tastiest possible way. Even better, you'd be hard pressed to spend more than $20, even if you order one of everything. There aren't a million things to choose from (I know many people find this especially refreshing) since they cook what's good and seasonal and on the syllabus. Wow, it was good, and I'm so glad I ignored the picture of Rachael Ray on the door and went in.

But, do they char in Iceland?

Gold Coast Char Dog
Originally uploaded by kaytwhy.

Now that sounds like a good dog (especially the lamb part,) but I have to ask if they employ the genius innovation of the Char, which I just noticed on this Chicago trip...

You cook the hot dog, then cut it up lengthwise and cook the strips on the sizzling grill, giving more of the meat that grilled tastiness. Also makes it easier to mix in the many condiments pictured here. The colleague I was eating with looked at this and said "What the hell is that? Hot dog salad?" Yes, my friend...good and good for you.

A new entry in the World Cup of Hotdogs

I'm travelling this week, and we're in Iceland on the way to Germany. You'd guess that Germany would be the strongest contender against the afore posted Chicago Dog, but wait! A last minute entry from the top of the world- the Iceland Dog.

I had one yesterday after swimming in a geothermal lagoon (really!), and this is a doozy. First, the hotdog is made with lamb, and then it's topped with ketchup, mustard, remoulade sauce (a mayonnaise/relish type thing), but before the dog is lovely snuggled in it's bun, they throw in chopped onions AND fried onions. MMmmmmm. Apparently the best place for this concoction is in Reykjavik, so we'll do research today and report back. Take that, New York hot dog vendors.

Chicago is Homespun - Even Without Hooters

I'm in Chi-Town for a day and a half on a business trip. The last time I was here, almost 10 years ago, I was amazed at how friendly and open every single person was going out of their way to help, smiling on the street, even politely asking for change. Now, I believe there are nice people everywhere (yes, they are even in Paris!) but these folks were way high on the happy meter.

However, I thought that my impression might not be entirely accurate since, last time, I was wearing ginormous fake breasts.

Last time, I was visiting a friend who hadn't seen me in a year. The Homespun Urban sisters LOVE a good prank (it was often all we had to entertain us besides books and weird French shows on Canadian TV), so I got some of those 'cutlets' that you put in your bra, the enhancers that were just coming out on the market at that time. I got some huge ones and wore them for three days, while my extremely refined and polite pal Kelly keep looking and obviously wanting to ask what had happened to take me to a DD but not daring to. Everywhere we went, people opened the doors, bought me drinks, helped me with my coat...it was like being a celebrity but also somewhat lonely without eye contact. Finally, I said "I guess you've noticed something different." "Well, yeah...I'm a little surprised." "I know," I told her, "but I've always wanted really big boobs, and now that I live in a place where nobody knows me from before, I decided to get them done." "Oh, that's nice." "I know it's a little odd..." I said. "You know, why don't I get rid of them right now!" I reached into my shirt and flung the cutlets at the fridge, where they stuck sweatily for a second before hitting the floor to Kelly' s horrified screams. Ah, good times.

The point is, I am not "loaded up" today, and the people are still so amazingly nice! I raise a char cheese dog to you, Chicagoans.

86ing the Fridge

"86", for those who never had the fun of working a job that required peeling 50 pounds of shrimp or making vats of salad dressing, is a restaurant term for when you're out of something. I'm trying to 86 my fridge before a long trip, and it's getting more and more challenging. Last night I had some chicken stock, so I cut up any slightly-shrivelled veggies I could find and threw them in. I also did a little research and found a recipe for an Italian soup that's thickened with cream of wheat, and since I had less than a serving of that left, I threw it in. A couple beaten eggs, some Parmesan cheese, and now you have a fancy dinner! I must admit, I thought at the outset that this one might require a trip down to the local Vietnamese place for take out, but it was actually really good.
Now if I can only figure out what to do with a potato, adobe chilies and applesauce.

The Most Fun You Can Have for $2.00 (plus batteries)

Cool Tool
Originally uploaded by kaytwhy.

I realize this may be a bit insensitive at a time when my sister is considering abstaining from coffee for the Lenten season. But I couldn't wait any longer to share it with those of us who are not Catholic, upper or lower case.

I got this little frother at IKEA for $1.99 because I'd seen a similar one at one of the fancy marketing agencies where I work. All you do is get milk for your coffee really, really hot, then flip the switch of this little devil. It gets coffee-shop frothy if you do it right, and you can happily top your homemade brew with barista style. Whip it, whip it real good...and don't forget the cinnamon. It's more stylish and it's very healthy.

Bunny Williams, Design Doyenne, is Homespun

I just heard her say this, which is so true to the Homespun Urban philosophy:

"We entertain often and easily, because we always have a few simple things on hand."

If you pair a party pantry (look for this foolproof list in our upcoming book) with a nonchalant attitude, you can throw down as often as you'd like and people will love to join you. Oh, to make the house look clean, try one of our Nana's tips: spray and wipe down the faucets so they're shiny and put fresh flowers in the bathroom. People will think you've cleaned all afternoon.

Lent is catholic (with a small 'c')

For Catholics, lapsed and otherwise, 'tis the season for giving up something. I stopped this practice years ago. I believe the last one was either 'no chocolate until Easter', which was a total cop out, because I like chocolate, but not that much, or 'no swearing' which was during a time in my life when I worked in restaurant kitchens, and that was a much harder habit to break. I've recently been thinking about it, though, because my friend (and the illustrator of our soon-to-be published book) Kathleen has given up adding sugar to things. She is actually still Catholic, so this may have some religious bent to it, but it's not a bad idea to use a time of year that's related to hard work, solitude, and long dark nights to change behaviors. (Better now than in summer- who wants to have a dietary tithe when there's fried clams and drinks with umbrellas?)
I'm thinking I might give up coffee, but not for the reasons you might think. I have no problem with the caffeine but I'm getting to the point where I drink it everyday and it's starting to not TASTE so good. I'm missing that satisfaction you can get from it, that feeling in the Maxwell House commercial from 1982 they still show every Christmas when Peter comes home from college inexplicably at 5 am and makes the first pot. I love coffee, and I want it to love me too, so perhaps I need to set it free and see if it comes back. Maybe 80's hair band Cinderella will prove to be prophetic: "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone".

Your mother was right.

Breakfast IS the most important meal of the day. And quite possibly my favorite given my penchant (obsession) with eggs and toast. I like to have some type of eggs at least 3 times a week, even on weekdays. My current kick is poached eggs. I used to use one of those deals where you put water in the bottom and there are 3 cups on top, but now I'm going old school. Pan of boiling water, a tiny bit of vinegar swirled in ( to keep the whites from separating), crack the egg right in the boiling water, time it for 1:30 sec., and you've got yourself a hell of a breakfast.

Look how beautiful it can be:

Kind of brings tears to your eyes, doesn't it?

GIve the Gift of Homespun Music

I'm helping plan an engagement party for an urban couple who truly has everything (the husband to be is a brain surgeon and the bride is a creative director with a fierce decorating hobby.) They don't want gifts, but people always want to bring something.

So, we're requesting that in lieu of the forced trip to Crate & Barrel or the wine store, everyone bring a CD of music celebrating the couple. You could purchase your favorite, introduce them to a new treasure, or, best of all, have a great time making them a mix. I think I'll do one that's perfect for post-fight lovin' and will call it "Don't Go To Bed Angry."

If the French don't love freedom, why is their food so frickin' good?

My lent-observing in laws came over for dinner last night, and since I was limited to fish, I decided to go with the classics: Sole Meuniere with the traditional accompaniments. "sole meuniere" sure do sound fancy, don't it? Au contraire, mon frere. If you can find sole, buy it, dry it off and salt it and let it sit for 5 min., dredge it in flour and pan fry it with a mixture of a TBSP of oil and a TBSP of butter. If it's thin, it will only need to cook for about a minute on each side. Put it in a warm oven while you add a couple more TBSP of butter, a TBSP of lemon juice, chopped parsley, and capers to the pan. Pour it over and that's it. Mmm.

That was served with potatoes Anna, which is potatoes sliced thin, layered in a cast iron pan with s&p and butter between each layer. Again, so simple, and so good.

But that wasn't the revelation of the night. While a Mimosa is a good way to nurse a hangover, it's also a classic french treatment for asparagus. You make a vinaigrette with vinegar, tarragon, a little mustard and oil, toss the cooked asparagus (I used green beans instead), then finish with a hard boiled eggs garnish- the egg is pressed through a mesh strainer and it becomes this fluffy, pretty yellow love that soaks up the vinaigrette. Here's a recipe:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/236717

So simple, really easy, and frickin' good. Vive la France!

And, the Oscar Went To...

And I am telling you...I'm not Chicken
Originally uploaded by kaytwhy.

...two winners, actually. It was a tie between my vegetarian homage to Jennifer Hudson's Dreamgirls performance "And I Am Telling You...I'm Not Chicken" and..

Notes on a Sandal

Notes on a Sandal
Originally uploaded by kaytwhy.

This wacky entry meant to evoke "Notes on a Scandal."

Other competitors:

Letters from Iwo Jima Edamame
Mini Shepherd's Pies for The Queen
Little Miss Sunshine Olive Platter
The Departed Cranberry Cocktails
Devil Wears Prada Cheese Cubes
Last King of Scotland Shortbread

Less Than 24 Hours to Oscar

...the Super Bowl for those of us more into film and fashion than brawn and balls. Or pigskin. Or whatever.

Anyhow, I'm feeling like a team that's got a serious streak to defend as I get ready to attend the bash my friend Kristen hosts every year. Guests have to bring food somehow inspired by one of the movies, and we vote the winner right before the announcement of Best Picture. I've won four years running and I'm feeling the pressure...what will top last year's winner, an array of dim sum arranged on a metallic Chinese cooking implement: "Wok The Line?"

Funny Onesies

Emily just went to an international baby shower, where each of the guests had to give the mother-to-be some advice. Sheesh. That's kind of tough, but a fun, personalized gift is easy.
This one is my favorite. More and more trendy stores are carrying baby onesies with clever sayings (I love the ones on wrybaby.com), single words, or simple pictures of fairies and butterflies.

Yes, they're cute, but why pay $40? Follow these three steps instead.

1) Go buy some plain white onesies and the iron -on paper at your local office store.

2) Print funny sayings, single words in foreign languages, or amusing photos on the paper. When Emily and Charlie went to welcome a new niece, they took pictures of themselves plugging their noese and pointing down, as if they were smelling a diaper.

3) Following the instructions, iron your embellishments on the onesie, enjoying the seductive smell that always takes me back to the iron-on T-shirt shops of my childhood. Hey, why not do one with a unicorn jumping over a rainbow-colored baby carriage?

Valentine's day, group style

Before you readers with minds in the gutter think otherwise, the Valentine's day Group style was a dinner the male members of the Commune cooked for the ladies. The men of the house decided to pool resources and cook Valentine's dinner last night, and I have to say- this is a good way to spend the dreaded V-day. Lots of fun for all, no pressure on any one person and one hell (heck- sorry Mom) of a meal. The menu was Asian-themed:

sushi and sashimi, hot sake for apps
Sushi-style beef tenderloin, bok choy and soba noodles for the main
chocolate fallen cake with green-tea whipped cream for dessert

The sushi-style beef is an unbelievably tasty, very rare cut of tenderloin coating in a Chinese 5 spice type rub. It's a recipe from Chris Schlesinger, chef of the East Coast Grill here in Boston, and author of some fantastic cookbooks- this one is in "Thrill of the Grill". Another great one, if you're a serious carnivore, is his "How to eat Meat"- your next pork butt will be a whole new world (your mind! keep it classy, reader.)

The green tea whipped cream came from a powder scammed off the people at the coffee counter at whole foods- it's a green tea flavored, sweet powder that they must use in their eco-friendly, sustainably-grown beverages. It's great in whipped cream, and gives it a really nice pale green tinge (remember that for St. Patrick's day, laddies!)

Any way, men love to compete with each other and what better way to compete than making dinner? Try it for your next Valentine's day.

Snow days are the best days of the year

It's a snow day here in Boston and that means one thing: Donuts. When we were little, our Dad used to make homemade donuts, but only during snow storms. These little devils are so good that I like to keep that up by only making them during snow days, and dammit, it's a Valentine's Day snow day! Here's the secret recipe:

1 1/2 C. Sugar
3/4tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
4 TBSP melted oleo
2 eggs
2 C. milk
4 tsp. baking powder
enough flour to roll dough- at least 5 C.

Mix, cut and fry in oil that's at least 350-375 degrees. Roll in cinnamon sugar or 10x sugar. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and enjoy. If you're feeling guilty about the calories, go shovel your walk.

Burp Bowl IV

Well, the greasy pans are soaking in the sink, the beer bottles have been recycled and I'm down two bottles of bourbon, which can only mean my annual Super Bowl party is over. For those anxiously awaiting the results of the food contest, here you go.

1. Best Football reference: A sheet cake in the shape of Peyton Manning, decorated with red splotches to represent the bloodshed some of the Pats fans had hoped would be unleashed on Manning. Oh well.

2. Tastiest: A trio of ball shaped yummies called "Freeballin'", consisting of Spam balls (http://new.spam.com/eatspam/contest_recipe.aspx?recipeid=262), the afore mentioned Jimmy Dean Sausage Balls (http://www.jimmydean.com/recipes/recipe.asp?recipeID=16), and olive balls (jumbo olives wrapped in a cheese spread/flour mix- it's a good one) mmm....balls.

3. Most Likely to cause gas: Cincinnati Chili. For those not familiar, it's more of a casserole than a soup . (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati_chili)

4. MVP- This year's contest was incredibly close, and in fact the MVP winner came close to winning every other category except football reference. But, in true story-book fashion, he came back to win it all: The Chicago Dog. Unlike it's football team namesake, the Chicago dog is a true winner and doesn't choke (unless you try to eat it all at once). Not just an ordinary hot dog, it has a special set of rules. For more info, try this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago-style_hot_dog

I guess those wikipedia people like to eat quite a bit during the Super Bowl, too.
Until next year, sports fans. Go Pats!

Thrift Store Secrets of the Cool and Frugal: Tips 1-2

Prada, Thomas Pink, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Ann Taylor, Tommy Hilfinger, Polo Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Ferragamo, Kenneth Cole, Lily Pulitzer, Pucciam I getting all wistful about walks down Rodeo Drive, or Fifth Avenue? Not on your life. These brands are all trophies I've scored during secondhand shopping safaris, with stops at stores including Goodwill and Salvation Army.

The designers who work to create the top end stuff either troll and/or send out crews to secondhand stores all the time, in search of inspiration. Kind of like pearl divers looking for treasure beneath the barnacles -sometimes you need to hold your breath for a while, but the payoff is pretty nice.

Three hints to help:

1)Bring hand sanitizer, no gloves because they deprive you of your most useful thrifting sense: touch. Somewhere, deep inside your reptilian brain knows what poly feels like vs. silk vs. a blendthis will get better with practice, but you already know what good clothes feel like.

2) I like to head for a section of the rack, then, making sure I am not going to injure another browser's hand, shove everything on it toward the end and pull pieces back towards me, quickly, one by one, with my eyes on the tag (for size and brand) and my fingers doing the walking for quality and texture as mentioned above. Once you see something you really like and it fits, look it over extremely carefully, near a window. Know what you're capable of fixing, and what would take tailoring - the price still might be right.

3) Look in other sections. This is not Nordstrom's: people have generally not been sorting for hours before. Also, bear in mind that thrifting can be very competitive. Meaning people will take stuff they think they might want and hide it where you can't get it. Or filch things out of your shopping cart while you're distracted by the wonders of your newly acquired rack-prowling expertise.

If you want to know more, we'll have it in the book...and it's up at Helium.

Tip Top Chef

I am addicted to Top Chef on Bravo, and though last night's finale was not that exciting, the best one (I thought) was creating a menu based on the 7 Deadly Sins. This is a fascinating concept, I think, and got me wondering what I would make.
Here's the sins, in case you've blocked out your Catholic School days (or never saw that horrible "Se7en" with Brad Pitt)

Gluttony
Pride
Sloth
Envy
Greed
Wrath
Lust

Any ideas pop out? I'll tell you one thing I know: The "Gluttony" category is coming from the Jimmy Dean website, that's for damn sure.

Won't you come home, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean

In my quest for the winning Super Bowl entry (and without any help from readers--some one's got to have a recipe, right?), I was looking for that fatty, Wisconsin-type cheese and meat delicacy known as the Sausage and Cheese Ball. So I went to the source:
http://www.jimmydean.com/recipe_index.asp

You really should check this out. Did you have any idea, any at all, that there are this many recipes to be made with Jimmy Dean sausage? I sure as hell didn't. And that's not even counting the recipe for the other strange creation from Jimmy's freakish lab: the precooked bacon pack.

Now the problem is deciding on just one. Right kind of you, Jimmy.

The Burp Bowl

Although I am no longer in the Super Bowl Spirit after the soul-crushing Patriots loss last week, the only thing that make me want to have the annual Super Bowl party is this : the food. We have a contest at the party each year and the categories are:
1. Best football reference (something shaped like footballs, fields, helmets, etc.)
2. Tastiest
3. Most likely to cause gas

that last one has been kind of easy to win in the last few years, so I'm going to try and take down #2. Any suggestions from the wider web?

The Oprah Strikes Back?

I heard on the radio today that Oprah-protege Rachael Ray was overheard at an LA restaurant talking smack about her patron. This leads me not to a discussion about Rachael Ray (which apparently is a whole other blog), but rather a question about Oprah: Can you bite the lucrative hand that feeds you, or are you finished without the gravy-train of constant promotion? Does Oprah's Death-Star like Empire control the universe, or can you cross her and still live to cook another meal on Tatooine? What happened to that James Frey guy, anyway?

For the Love of Three Oranges

My sister-in-law has a dwarf orange tree that her bro gave her as a gift a couple years ago. Despite Cape Cod winters, it occasionally makes fruit, and recently produced three cute little oranges. What to do with all this (tiny) fruit? She made cocktails with it. Now that's a nice homespun winter touch- "Oh, this? I made this from my fruit trees".

I suggested take the next bounty and cook it down with equal parts sugar and water for a simple syrup. That way, more people can enjoy the "harvest". Who says winter is dull and lifeless? Not with baby orange cocktails, friends.

The very basics, part 2

Wow. How have we gotten so far away from good food that people are eating M&M's for dinner? (I'm not a huge fan, so that doesn't sound so good). Reclaim the domestic arts, women of the world.

my vote for the top things to have around:

1. bread
2. cheese
3. eggs
4. lettuce of some type
5. pasta

That's all you need. Really. Let's see: grilled cheese, egg sandwich, croutons for a salad, a salad with a poached egg, a savory bread pudding, deviled eggs, toad-in-a-hole, egg salad sandwich, pasta carbonara, pasta with oil and cheese, cooked pasta fried with scrambled eggs, omlette with salad on top, crepes, mac and cheese, etc. etc.

quick and healthy. Besides, low-carb is so 2006.

The Very Basics

I'm working on a project with several women who are intelligent, great-looking, hold down excellent jobs...and they eat everything out of either a microwave or off a menu. "Can you cook?" one of them asked me last night, when we were working late and calling the thai place, again. "I just can't get into it. I can't make anything and I just end up eating all the M&Ms at work."

Help me save these women from themselves. Not everyone has to be a foodie, or a gourmet. I don't qualify for either of those categories, but I can make something good and satisfying if I feel like it. Because of basic kitchen competency, I can eat better, healthier, and cheaper.

So, what are the five or ten things everyone should know how to make? The 101 of food?

Here are some of my picks:

1) Scrambled eggs or, as we called them as kids "Scrambies."
2) Roast chicken
3) Cold appetizer platter (yes, you can cheat and use deli stuff here.)
4) Soup that can last a week
5) Grilled fish
6) Rice & Beans
7) Inventive salads
8) A cheese plate
9) Crock Pot standby
10) Oven-roasted vegetables

What do you think?

Who is Homespun Urban?

So who are we? Two sisters from the frozen reaches of Northern New York , but now living in the urban jungles of Atlanta and Boston. We are two country girls gone urban: one ran screaming, one just gravitated. One of us is more like the colorfully cussing cooks in the back of the kitchen, the other is at the front of the house, hostessing, small-talking, and stealing sips from her 'iced tea.'

You guess who's who.

Super Scam

Ah, the Super Bowl -the most American of eating holidays. What better time to celebrate the US of A's culinary contributions- cheese dip, burgers, dogs, and of course, chicken wings? I LOVE the Super Bowl. I love the game, I love the food, I love the fact that the Sunday coupons start in January with Slim Fast and rice cakes, and in two short weeks are running jalapeno poppers and queso dip.
So wouldn't you think that prices for this type of thing would go down? Specials, the equivelent of the 29 cents-a-pound turkey at Thanksgiving, that sort of thing? Guess again. A caterer recently informed my sister that around Super Bowl time, the price of chicken wings triples. I realize that chicken wings aren't that expensive to begin with, but come on! This smacks of Halliburton-level corruption. Can't even the Super Bowl stay pure?

Turkey's Never Ending Story

If you're like me, the best part of Thanksgiving is not the meal, but the week of leftovers after the fact. You know that sad, worried feeling you get when you try to get one more sandwich out of the leftovers, but realize that a week after the meal might be pushing it? (Turkey sandwich or food poisoning....turkey sandwich or food poisoning.....)Never fear. After grossly over-estimating the amount of turkey needed this year, I was faced with more turkey meat that I could ever whip into the leftover permutations in my repertoire, so I froze a whole bag of it. I wasn't sure how cooked turkey froze, but guess what? It's just fine. Turkey and rice soup in January's cold takes you back to the warmer fun of Thanksgiving. In the words of Limahl, it's a 'Never Ending Story'.

Welcome to Homespun Urban

Welcome to the Homespun Urban Blog- an accompaniment to the upcoming Homespun Urban book. (publishing in 2007). What is Homespun Urban?

Think the goodness of country life (fresh and healthy food, community camaraderie, the ability to be constantly entertained and produce cool crafty things at the drop of a pitchfork) can only be found far from the city lights – or attained through hours of kitchen wenching? Not anymore.
You hold in your hands the manual for knowing how to:
•Infuse special occasion magic into the most boring Tuesday
•Make your home bar the best hotspot in the city
•Make your weekend guests feel they've been upgraded to the concierge floor
•Bring your friends together for gatherings people can't stop talking about
•Whip up easy dishes that will make the person of your choice swoon
•Throw a bridal or baby shower that doesn't make you want to throw up
•Use an age-old technique to find modern love – and have a killer pantry at the same time
•Gain new sense of pride in yourself and your own inventive genius!

Welcome to the spin.