Spaetzle and Snitzle

One of the meals that Thomas and I love the most is spaetzle and snitzle. When I lived with Thomas' parents, his mom taught me how to make it and it is still one of our favorites. I always make the pork snitzle (breaded pan fried thin pork pieces) from scratch and I normally make the spaetzle (a German noodle) from a package (just like you make pasta). 

With Thomas and I trying (yes the key word is trying) to make more things from scratch, one of the things Thomas has wanted to try is spaetzle. So tonight, we tried.

As I made the pork, I dried it off, covered it in a flour mixture (flour, little salt, little pepper), dredged it through some whipped egg, and then again covered it in Italian seasoned bread crumbs.

The final piece... delicious.

Meanwhile on the other side of the kitchen, Thomas was making spaetzle. Flour, eggs, water, and salt. The combination then is a dough. After letting is set for 10 min, different directions we heard were to press it through a colander with large holes, or a cheese grater.

Fail. 

That did not work. So Thomas and I eventually just cut it into thin slices and then into tiny pieces. Just like pasta you put it into boiling water. When it floats, it is done.

After that Thomas wanted to pan fry it to give it a little crunch. 

Boy did that make a huge difference. 

 The final product was awesome! There will be a few tweaks next time, such as getting the pieces smaller, but overall I say the meal was a success.

 Toss a little gravy on top and put a side salad next to it, or better yet cucumber salad, and you have yourself a homemade German meal. 

Next recipe research.... how to make the mix from the brown gravy packets.

I do think this is the first time Thomas and I have ever cooked a meal together. Almost 6 years later and we are still having firsts! 

Blackberry Freezer Jam Jewels

Aren't these beautiful blackberries?

Thomas and I went to pick them around Tacoma. Last year I made blackberry muffins and blackberry cobbler, but this year I decided to make blackberry jam instead!

The recipe I followed was...

1 2/3 cups of mashed blackberries

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons of instant pectin

Combine and jar with an inch to spare on top!

My little taste tester, Kai.

My first ever jars of Jam!

I absolutely love making everything from scratch! 

Next I just need to figure out how to make it with a little less sugar and no splenda!

Little Ballerina

It is funny how many hopes and dreams you have both as a kid in life in general. Some are little like hoping for the perfect bike for Christmas and some are larger like the dream of becoming a fire fighter. One dream which I now label as a bucket list item is to take ballet lessons.

Now I am not sure where this dream started. It could have been because I took 1 set of lessons when I was 5, or it could have been because my mom always told me I should have been a ballerina. Not really sure. However over time, this dream has become my own. Now let’s be honest. I have no desire to become the next professional ballerina or to be the lead in the Nutcracker. On my bucket list it simply says:

5.       Take ballet classes.

Simple enough. Just take some classes. So when I came upon a local amazon deal that allowed me to take 10 weeks of classes for a price I would actually pay, I jumped on it. After talking with Thomas about it, then informing him I had purchased the deal, his first questions was, “Can I come to your recital?” His second question was, “Is it just you with a bunch of 5 year olds?”

So last night I embarked on my adventure and was able to cross off yet another bucket list item. I took my first ballet lesson in 23 years.

It started with a trip to The Dance Connection where they met all my dancing needs. Giant ballet shoes. I called ahead of time, but when I entered and explained my impossibly large feet, the gal brought out her 3 largest slippers. The first one was WAY too small, the second one was a little too small, and the third one fit just right.

So off I went to become a graceful ballerina. With all my 5 year olds. Ok not really. Along with the instructor there were 2 other women who were older than me.

My take away from ballet? I love it. Well I loved my first lesson any way. I will see where the next 9 weeks takes me, but learning to move more gracefully was a great way to spend an hour of my time. Now I need to google the steps so I can practice before my next lesson. After all, I have a giant pair of ballet slippers that I need to use!



Me as a Little Ballerina



Craft Fair Adventures

When Amy and I looked into selling our wares at a craft fair earlier this year, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.

First we had Art on the Ave. This was a very music and beer oriented fair. Not so much with the crafts. So we were a one of a kind tent this time. Which was good and bad. The good was people bought our stuff because we were the only ones. The bad was there were a whole different crowd of people! And to top it off, it was not the best day for a fair considering the drizzle and wind. With our weather fun, we tried 3 different set ups, starting with the picture below. But we survived! And we both made a profit!

Our second adventure at the Proctor Arts fest last weekend, we started out with the 3rd set up from the last fair. It actually worked really well for most of the day too!

We learned that our booth works the best with a side and a half, but after walking around we might set up differently next time. All in trying the best fit, right? This was mainly my stuff.

And this was Amy's stuff.

And this is little Jackson Henry, who kept us company and brought in customers for us. This little 1 month old cutie was just a dall the whole day!

Needless to say, our fair experiences as vendors, was successful. We now know what we do and do not want, which fairs we want to attend and avoid as well as that we complement each others items well!

We are both on etsy if you want to check out what we still have in stock!

Amy's Shop eeBee Ones

My Shop Calia's Cottage (or click on the tab above!)