Monthly Archives: November 2015

Live and Learn When Things Go Wrong

What do you do when you are working on something, putting your heart into what you are making, and then, something goes wrong?

I was really sad and oh, so disappointed. The hours I spent knitting and embroidering this sweater flashed through my mind as I looked at the stains that a new strand of beads had left behind around the buttonholes. I tried dabbing the worst stain out with water, then tried a tiny bit of Shout, the one stain didn’t budge, so I didn’t even try with the others.

Well, how bad are the stains? Not too bad, in my opinion, but the sweater is not perfect now. 😞 I know that I don’t have it in me to remake this sweater and the stains are very faint, so the sweater isn’t ruined. I removed the offending beads and replaced them with glass beads. If the sweater is buttoned, the stains are totally covered up. And, (ha ha) unbuttoned in a darkened room they are unnoticeable. Hey, I gotta laugh or I’d cry!

But seriously, see not too bad.

Here is the sweater with the new glass beads sewn on and the sweater buttoned up.

And, here is Talyssa during the photo shoot when everything was going perfectly, or so I thought. I liked Gina’s “Ivy and Holly” ensemble so much that I decided to make Talyssa one of her own.

Now, for the learning part and in case you were wondering about these beads. These beads were labeled as “Dyed Bamboo Coral”. I wanted to better understand how this happened and how I could test beads , so I took the strand and rubbed it on an old wool sweater and sure enough there was a faint pink stain left on the wool. Needless to say, I will be staying away from dyed beads.

Talyssa’s “Holiday Darling” ensemble is available (at a special price) on my “Shop What’s New” page at cindyricedesigns.com.

A Busy, and Sad Weekend

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This weekend was the fall play performance weekend at my daughter’s high school. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were performance days, so there wasn’t time for much else. I dropped my daughter off Friday afternoon and had a couple of hours before the evening performance started. I went to the local bookstore and had a cappuccino and worked on Millie’s new sweater dress. It’s in such a pretty pale aqua-y blue heathered wool.

Upon entering the auditorium on Saturday night (and Sunday afternoon) this is what we saw projected onto the stage curtain. Before the performances began we all took a few moments to pray for all those affected by this horrible act of terrorism. There aren’t words, except to say that I pray for all of you.

Sweet Potato Chili

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Who’s in the mood for some cozy smells wafting through the house? Ah, the smells of fall food; it’s like no other season. This fall chili is made in the slow cooker, so it does just that (and when it’s done cooking, it’s impossible to NOT have a tiny bowl).

I had some requests for the sweet potato chili recipe that I made on my anniversary, so here it is. I made it again on Wednesday and took some photos (because I love to see the process, and hopefully you do too). Let me add that I always add or delete something according to what I have on hand. It’s a good recipe to change up a bit to use what’s in the pantry and to suit your taste.

Sweet Potato Chili

2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into (about) 3/4″ slices, then quarter those slices. Or change to your liking (this would affect cooking times), I like chunks.

1 large can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes, use diced if you like chunks, crushed makes it saucier.

2 15 oz. cans of beans, this time I used pinto and kidney, but am always changing the combination.

2 small or 1 medium onion, chopped

4 small cloves garlic, or to your taste, minced

1 jalapeno, chopped, (optional)

1 red bell pepper, chopped, optional, can use other colors too

2 t. chili powder

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. salt, to taste

1 t. cumin

frozen corn, about 1 cup, didn’t use it this time, but last time I did

water, 2 cups to start, you can add more as needed to get the correct consistency

I don’t always have bell peppers, but they are a great addition; you can use any color. I didn’t add corn this time because I had a tube of polenta which I sliced, then pan fried, and added to the top of each serving of chili.

My sweet potato chunks fill a 4 cup glass measuring cup to overflowing. Of course, you can have a little more or less.

All of the ingredients go into a slow cooker. After two hours of cooking on high, the chili is starting to simmer, but still has a ways to go.

And, after 5 hours it is DONE! Yum!!!

The chili took 5 hours on high. After 5 hours the sweet potatoes were still firm, but cooked through; if you cook longer they start to break up which is okay, if that’s what you like. You could probably make the chili on the stove, but I wouldn’t add as much water. The two cups is needed for slow cooking. Also, if you want to cook on low heat, the original recipe said 6-8 hours.

We seemed to enjoy the polenta on top more than the corn in the chili. My daughter added some sliced avocado to her bowl and I added a dollup of plain yogurt. I also forgot the cinnamon this time, but it is really good in it, so I’d add it if you like cinnamon.

My slice of polenta was sliced a little thick, and I didn’t give it a chance to brown which I would recommend.

I love using the slow cooker. It’s like having your own personal cook (or mom) preparing dinner right in your kitchen. It’s even better coming home after work or shopping and having dinner ready and the house smelling yummy.

That’s all there is to it! Enjoy!