Here in the Midwest the weather this fall has been a little ridiculous: hot one day, freezing the next, perfect for a while, and then humid? in fall, really? Dinner planning got rather difficult. I would start something warm and stew-y in the chilly morning and would be sweating while I was eating it in the evening. Not all that pleasant.

But then I made this beautiful slow roasted salmon recipe from Suzanne Goin’s book Sunday Supers at Lucques. Now I adapted it to my let’s hurry up and get dinner on the table attitude because Suzanne’s recipes are all day, three course affairs, but I think the salmon is still super delicious. It’s warm, but light at the same time–just right for when the weather can’t figure out what season it is.

slow roasted salmon

with roasted beet and potato salad

heavily adapted from Sunday Supers at Lucques

for the salmon

• a side of salmon, skin on, about 2 lbs (I used coho salmon and it was a bit cheaper)
• zest of one lemon
• 2 teaspoons minced tarragon
• 1 teaspoons thyme leaves
• 1/4 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
• 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• fresh ground pepper

for the salad

• 1 lb small potatoes
• 1 lb beets (various colors if possible)
• a few sprigs fresh thyme
• salad greens (arugula is nice, but any lettuce is fine)

for the mustard vinaigrette

• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Roast the vegetables first: heat your oven to 400 degrees F and roast the potatoes and beets whole for 30 minutes or until a knife pierces them easily. In a small bowl whisk together all the ingredients for the mustard vinaigrette. When the beets are warm slip off the skin and cut into 1/4 inch slices. Cut the potatoes similarly and pour the vinaigrette over both. Toss carefully as the beets can color everything bright purple!

Right after the vegetables come out of the oven turn it down to 250 degrees F. Mix everything for the salmon (except the salmon) in a small bowl. You should have a thick lemony, herby paste.  Place the salmon, skin side down, on a parchment lined pan. Rub the paste on the salmon.  Put the salmon in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Because we are cooking it so slowly, the salmon will not change color much.  To test if it is done, peek between the flakes with a fork.  If it doesn’t separate into flakes, it’s not ready yet.

When you are ready to serve the salad gently toss the salad greens with the warm potatoes and beets.  Squeeze a bit of lemon over the hot salmon and put everything on the table.

1. girlies in pjs  2. Hand dyed, wool jersey vest and leggings 3.  raincoat 4. fishsticks and fries austin lee romper 5. pocket shirt 6. Peasant top and repurposed skirt 7. pockets 8. crazy stripey crawler pants 9. pink sweater II 10. gypsy forest 11. elephant and elbow patches 12.  Abby jacket 13. strawberry skirt 14. raw edged raglan tee–bamboo knit 15. school days coat  16. 90 minute shirts

Another KCWC has come and gone and you have made it amazing! One little nudge and suddenly all these cute kids have  closets full of beautiful handmade clothes.  The momentum this kcwc was unreal. Usually there is about a 50/50 split between the fizzle outers and the get ‘r doners, but it seemed like everyone was getting stuff done this fall.  No reason to let that good sewing mojo go to waste. I know you have a life to get back to, but don’t forget that just a little bit early in the morning or after the kids go to bed a couple times a week adds up to a lot of finished projects!

1. clever charlotte 2. too sweets 3. tea collection 4. charm stitch 5. crafty mamas 6. ida pearle 7. secret cake 8. sew many patterns 9. re+new by five green acres 10. vistaprint 11. little part 12. that’s me! want to be a sponsor?

I was very excited to see all the new faces this kcwc as well. You can find some great new (to you) blogs I’m sure either in the comments section of this post or from this flickr discussion.  We all need to support each other in our crafty endevors! You can continue to support your fellow sewist by subscribing to their blog (and mine right there in the sidebar)– it’s like a virtual pat on the back. A little encouragement can do a lot, just look at the kcwc flickr pool! And my amazing sponsors could use your support too. We are all in this together!

Whew! You made it! The last day of kcwc fall 2011. I hope it went well for you this year. All the clothes I’ve showed you so far I made two weeks ago, but this coat? I’ve been working on this beauty all week. An hour here and there at the sewing machine and finally the baby gets something to wear.

Here are all the details:

• pattern: same as the coat I made for his older brother (that one was still too big)
• elbow patches: from Kristin’s tutorial. At first I top stitched a diamond pattern on them, but an oval shape + diamonds = ham. He looked like he had big hams on his elbows!

• fabric: brown tweedy wool (same as these pants) found at a thrift store
• lining fabric: felted cashmere sweater

• buttons: wooden buttons from Joann’s plus one green one I’ve been saving forever.
• pockets: patch pockets lined with green and ironed to make faux piping like these pants again.

Here are some more pictures just because:

Did you have a good time during kcwc? Did you get a lot done? I love this pile of handmade clothes! Makes me want to do laundry (a little). I will be back tomorrow with a big round up of all the amazing things from the flickr pool. Here are the ones from today:

1. wraparound jacket
2. ottobre majava pants
3. ruitjes
4. unicorn dress

Wow, sorry I’m so late with a post today. I forgot about actual work :)

I am pretty proud of this little skirt. It’s a basic, a-line denim skirt with a flat front, a bit of topstitching, and some good pockets. Nothing flashy about it, but it just looks right. You know what I mean?

What is it doing in a circle of glittery gold? After kcwc is over and done I tell you all about it (hey, you might even want to subscribe…)

1. kcwc x hoodie
2. little boy jacket
3. reversible corduroy caplet
4. origami pocket skirt

These are a little over the top to be sure. But so are four year old boys. The patterns is from Happy Homemade vol. 5 modified it a bit, okay a lot. I stole the pocket pattern from a different project in the book and I threw piping in all over the place. The back pockets are my favorite.

I also totally wussed out on the zipper fly and just make a fake fly, that got all janky anyway. Being afraid of putting in a zipper is ridiculous, I mean a zipper isn’t going to kill me or anything. Whatever, here they are: crazy ass orange tight pants with bright blue piping.

He rocked them.

And here are today’s highlights from the flickr group (they are all a little muted today, maybe the rain is affecting me):

1. polaris
2. red riding hood dress
3. library jacket
4. snappy milo cables

only two more days to go!