Cooking and Crafts

How to de-stress when there's nowhere to go... cook & craft!

So there is only 7 weeks left in the school year.  Yet, there is so much to do!   

The state testing is this week.  Then, I'm traveling to Mountain Village for Language Arts curriculum planning for next school year.  The following week I am taking a group of seniors into Anchorage for the senior trip.  After that, I will be planning and setting up prom.  Then, I am in charge of putting together the graduation ceremony.  One week later, we will be packing up our house to move over into a different one.   Finally, during the last week of school, we will be packing up our classrooms to get ready for the move to the new school in August.  Phew.  Here we go.

Moose Meatballs

{Ingredients: 1 lb ground moose meat, 1 egg, 2 tbsp chopped onions, 1 tsp salt}

Mix together by hand, roll into meatballs, and place on foil.  Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Naan Flatbread

{Ingredients: 1 Tbsp dry active yeast, 1 c. warm water, 1/4 c. white sugar, 3 Tbsp milk, 1 egg, 2 tsp salt, 3 1/2 c. flour, 2 tsp minced garlic, 3 Tbsp melted butter}

1. In a large bowl, dissolve 1 Tbsp yeast in 1 c. warm water.  Let stand about 10 minutes until frothy.

2. Stir in one egg, 3 Tbsp milk, and 2 tsp salt.

3. Put 3 1/2 c. flour and 1/4 c. white sugar in another bowl.  Add mixture.  Stir together.

 3. Knead for 6-8 minutes, or until smooth.  Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise about 1 hour until the dough has doubled in volume.

 4. Pinch dough, and knead in 2 tsp minced garlic (optional).  Pinch off golf ball sized pieces of dough.  Roll into balls and place on a tray.  Cover with a towel, and let rise 30 minutes until dough has doubled in size.

 5. Heat skillet (or grill) on High heat.  Lightly oil the cooking surface.  Flatten out dough (the size of a pancake) on a floured surface.

 6. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until it gets puffy.  Brush uncooked side with melted butter, and turn over.  Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned about 2-3 more minutes.

 7. Enjoy your Naan Flatbread!

Seed Bead Earrings

I wanted to learn how to stitch earrings.  So, I learned the "brick stitch" and the "ladder stitch" by watching this video tutorial on youtube: 

{Click Here}

This is the first pair I made for myself.  It took about 6 hours.  I made a second pair with a friend and we each made one earring.  That took only 4 hours.





I made a third pair for another friend. By then, it only took me 3 hours to make them.

Making the earrings is a tedious task, so it's good practice for building patience.

I started the earring with the clear beads using the "ladder stitch."  Then, I use the "brick stitch" to build a pyramid up with the silver beads.

Finished with the top of the earring.  Now, I will add the columns of fridge on the bottom. 

The finished product: