Super Secret Sewing Project: Sneak Peak

This weekend will be the debut of the big commissioned sewing project that HH and I have been hinting about.  I still have some work to do but it'll all be completed very soon.  We'll post more pictures next week, but here's a little sneak peak for all you loyal fans of the blog.  Any guesses about what the big project is?

Pulled Pork

Since LJ's parents bought a couple of whole pigs from 4-H kids at the local county fair we have had our fair share of pork to eat.  It has been a challenge but from sausage gravy, to ribs, to meatballs we have done our best to use it all while trying new things.

One of the difficult things with buying whole or half pigs is ending up with shoulders and butts.  This isn't a real problem if you have a large family or are having a party where a lot of meat will be eaten, but for just LJ and me those cuts of meat provide us enough food for a week.

I used this recipe, originally from America's Test Kitchen, for creating pulled pork.  Though the process takes more than a day if you include the time the pork is in the brine, the results are worth it.  The process is probably best saved for the weekend but as a bonus I ate pulled pork sandwiches for the rest of the week for lunch.

Potstickers

Potstickers seem like they should be complicated to make but they are quite simple.  They are also nice because a batch makes enough for several meals and they store well in the freezer for later use.

We have used a number of different recipes in the past but Alton Brown's recipe is a good starting point for the entire process.  Once you are comfortable stuffing the wonton wrappers and cooking the potstickers it is easy to tweak the filling to your own tastes.

 
Once they are shaped you can store them in the freezer. There is no need to thaw them before cooking so they make for a quickly prepared dinner after work.

Quality Source: Pendleton Woolen Mill

Whenever we make a trip to Portland, the Pendleton Woolen Mill store is always on our list of places to go.  It's a good thing we don't go to Portland that often, though, because we always end up spending a lot of money there.  Pendleton is well known for high quality wool, both in terms of fabric yardage available for home sewing and in the finished products they sell (men's and women's clothing, blankets, etc.).

Most of the pre-cut wool pieces available at the store were discounted 15% or more on this visit.  That amounts to some significant savings when the original price can get up to $40/yard, and at least 1.5-2 yards are needed for any given project.  From the discounted options, I picked a medium weight grey plaid and a light weight green wool to make work shirts for myself.

HH chose two heavy weight wools, one in black and one in grey, for more pairs of cozy pants.  I plan to line the grey ones in the pictured flannel and the black ones in some actual lining-weight (thin) material because the wool is already so thick. 

We also found some super heavy dark green wool for my mom, who intends to make hiking/hunting pants to replace a pair that is wearing out.

This store also sells zippers and buttons for an insanely low price, albeit with limited selection.  They let you fill up a roughly quart size bag with either notion for just $1 a bag.  I've been able to get approximately 20-30 zippers for that price, which includes long coat-style zippers and nice invisible zippers for dresses that would normally sell for at least $1 each.  The colors are really limited but are usually in neutral tones like black, navy, and brown.  It's important for me to have a wide variety of zippers available at home so I can sew something up quickly without having to go to the store just to get a zipper.

I like to wash wool before sewing with it because I know that's how we plan to launder the clothes that will be made from it.  It's important to do this because wool shrinks quite a bit when washed and dried in hot conditions.  We typically use cold water and only leave the wool in the hot dryer for a portion of the time that would normally be used so it doesn't shrink up too much and become too thick.
  

 Here's a sample of some things I've made out of previous Pendleton wool purchases.  All of this wool was bought at the Woolen Mill store except the stuff for HH's house jacket, which we bought on Ebay.

Quality Sources: Dave's Killer Bread

As part of LJ's top secret, large, commissioned sewing project we made a trip to Portland, Oregon last Sunday to do a fitting.  I convinced LJ that we needed to make a side trip to a spot that is close to my heart.

Dave's Killer Bread is my go to bread when I'm looking for sandwich bread and feeling too lazy to make my own loaf.  There are a lot of things I like about the company other than the delicious bread they make.  They seem like a socially responsible organization that is working hard to make the world a better place.

The healthy bread store happens to be just across the street from another amazing place, Bob's Red Mill.  Bob's is another socially responsible organization and they also happen to be the premier flour and grain supplier on the west coast.  Keep an eye out at the grocery store for them if you are looking for anything from flour to hot cereal.

Unfortunately we were visiting Portland on a Sunday so Bob's was closed so we only were able to come away with a couple of loaves of Dave's Killer bread.  I guess we will have to make another trip to check out Bob's.

Empanadas

I'm a huge fan of what I would refer to as either "homemade hot pockets" or "savory hand pies."  I like to make small calzones or empanadas in large batches so they can be frozen and then eaten later for lunches at work.  They are also nice because they can be made with a wide variety of fillings so it is a great way to use up leftover ingredients like vegetables, taco meat, or pepperoni.

I've used lots of different types of dough for making empanadas in the past.  Some recipes call for more of a pizza type dough while others call for more of a biscuit like dough.  I've grown fond of this recipe when making empanadas and it follows more of a biscuit style.

The only special tool that is helpful to have is a pastry blender which is also a necessity for most biscuit making.

I used some delicious ground beef from Colvin ranch that I fried up with some onions, garlic, cumin, and chili powder.

Vent holes are helpful to ensure that the empanadas don't explode while baking in the oven.  I brushed these with an egg white wash after this photo to help them get more color.

Since the filling has has already been cooked the empanadas only need to bake long enough for the dough to get golden brown.  At that point they are ready to eat with a dollop of sour cream and some hot sauce.

Asparagus

As we often do, HH and I scored some nice produce the last time we visited my parents.  In addition to the usual haul of apples, we were given some delicious avocados and a big bag of asparagus.  Thanks mom and dad!

My favorite way to prepare asparagus is to saute it with garlic and lemon juice.  Heat some olive oil and/or butter in a skillet, add chopped garlic (the more the merrier!) and saute until it is just starting to turn golden.  Then add asparagus spears that have had the tough bottom section trimmed off, stirring to coat with the oil.  Cover and cook for 5 minutes or so.  Uncover and squeeze in some fresh lemon juice (1/2 to 1 full lemon, depending on how lemony you want it to be) and continue cooking until the juice thickens and coats the asparagus.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve.

 
This time around we ate ours with baked potatoes and salad with HH's Russian dressing.

Hash browns

LJ convinced me that I needed to make hash browns from scratch so I picked up a five pound bag of potatoes and gave it my best shot.

For as simple as hash browns are (just potatoes and seasoning salt) a few specialized tools make life a little easier.  A box grater is wonderful for shredding the potatoes quickly.

A potato ricer is the best tool around for squeezing out the excess liquid from the shredded potatoes.  This step is a necessity for getting crisp results.

A cast iron pan is best for even heat distribution and crisp results.

When flipping the hash browns it is best to try to turn them all together or at least in as big of sections as you can.  A metal spatula is the perfect tool for this in a cast iron pan.

I probably should have cooked them in smaller batches and cooked them a little longer to make them more crisp but the results were pretty excellent.