I’ve never been a picky eater. Partly because picky eaters were not allowed in the house I grew up in and partly because there is just so much delicious food out there I don’t want to miss. But eggplant, well eggplant never did it for me.

I always looked at it as the vegetarian’s meat. And not being a vegetarian, I chose the actual meat. Eggplant sat there spongy and tasteless. Yes, eggplant parmesan is delicious, but if you accidentally breaded and fried your kitchen sponge, then doused it in tomato sauce, it might be delicious too.

This past year, I waged a food war with my pickiest eater, my youngest. I’m happy to say I won (and have been thinking of posting about it–would you be interested?) but part of the battle involved looking at the food I ate. Was I picky? I didn’t think so, but I had fallen into a food rut. I bought the same things every week, so we ate some variation of the same things every week.  I went out and bought 2 eggplants.

Then I had to figure out a way to cook them. I found a good recipe, messed with it a bit, and have made it at least ten times. I eat eggplant–willingly! This eggplant is smoky and bold, bright and fresh, a little winter-y and a little spring-y. It is lovely warm, but equally as good cold.  Can you tell I love it? I love it even more the next day with a fried egg on top.

smokey, roasted eggplant

adapted from this recipe on the kitchn

ingredients

• 2 large eggplants
• 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoon smoked paprika (don’t substitute regular paprika, go get the smoked stuff)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional, but good)
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 1 cup flat parsley leaves, chopped
• Juice of 1 lemon

directions

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F
2. Cut the eggplant into cubes (1 inch or so) and sprinkle with the salt
3. Whisk the oil, vinegar, paprika, cumin, and maple syrup together
4. Add the garlic and the eggplant.
5. Mix everything up and spread it out on one sheet pant (it looks like a lot for one sheet pan, but the eggplant shrinks considerably)
6. Put it in the oven for 1 hour–stirring now and then. Really it can stay in for even longer, it just gets better.
7. When the eggplant is done, take it out and squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over the top.
8. Stir in the parsley and eat!

 

Tomorrow is the first day of Spring, which means it’s time for another edition of Kid’s Clothes Week! Kid’s Clothes Week is a community event where you to commit to sew children’s clothes for an hour each day for 7 days. This spring KCW will be the last week of April.

I’m so excited to tell you about all the new things coming to Kid’s Clothes Week! Some you might notice right away, like where did the last C in KCWC go? Well, kidsclothesweekchallenge is quite a mouth full. I wanted something shorter and snappier for the bigger and better KCW. After going through many, many new names (a lot of terrible puns, some just terrible), I finally settled back on the original name, only a bit shorter.

Even though the challenge is gone from the official name, kid’s clothes week is still a challenge. Actually there are even more challenges! Starting this year, KCW will take place four times a year: winter, spring, summer, fall. This way if you have to miss one, you won’t have to wait half a year for the next one.

It gets even better. I have teamed up with the amazing and talented Dorie from tumbling blocks to build KCW a site of it’s very own. We have all built this amazing little community while sewing for our kids, and I think it deserves to have a home of its own. 2 We will need your help, but more on that next week :)

For now all you need to know is: new and exciting things are in store! I know you are itching to start planning for spring. To sign up for KCW Spring 2013 head over to the official KCW blog and leave a comment on the very first post.

This, my friends, is what my kids did all weekend (and last weekend and the one before). What are they doing? Making magic potions, of course!

My creative, talented, and lovely friend Helen, and her son, made this amazing Magic Potion Kit.  My son was very lucky to receive it for his birthday. It couldn’t have been more perfect. Previously my son had been making odd mixtures from glue and dirt and soap and whatever else he could scrounge up. Now he had ingredients never before seen to man, replete with pipettes and giant caldron!

The magic potion kit has all the things a 6 year old could want:

• messy things
• exploding things
• yucky things
• magical things

The magic potion kit also has everything a mother could ever want:

• non-toxic things
• easily clean-up-able things
• cheap and easily replaceable things
• quiet children engaged in creative play

1. danger! live slime  2. unicorn tears  3. moth wings and bat claws  4. juicy eyeballs 5. magic potions  6. bat tongues  7. dragon skin  8. ground up vampire bones 9.a great big caldron full of magic!

I love how every bit of this gift is handmade, most of it is recycled, and all of it inspires creativity. What more could you want?

I can be kind of a tightwad. I can’t help it–it’s in my midwestern blood to pinch pennies. But maybe you already knew that, seeing as I make my kids’ clothes (and toys and sheets). And I learned to make all those thing from free tutorials on the internet.

This little red flag pops up in my head when I see a price tag on a pattern or tutorial and my stubborn, Midwestern self thinks, “Well, I could do that.” So I won’t buy the pattern, but instead try to make the garment using what I already know and maybe a poorly lit you tube video or two.

Results vary. Sometimes I’m wildly successful: the garment fits, the details are just right, only a few mistakes are visible. A success like that produces a sewer’s high. I am a genius! I will never buy clothes again! I am completely self sufficient!

Other times, it all goes to hell.  I don’t think I need to elaborate.

It has taken me a long time to realize that patterns are there to guide you through the entire process. Maybe I should revise that statement: well written patterns guide you through the entire process.

Some of the commercial pattern makers out there tend to throw you to the wolves.  But all the indie pattern designers that have been popping up lately genuinely want to teach you how to make the lovely garment they designed.

It’s taken me a year, but when I see an awesome pattern for sale I don’t immediately think, “pshaw, I could do that.” Instead I try to think, “Give the lady a little money, she just wants to show you how to sew better.”

So who taught me to make these awesome pants?  Complete with lined pockets, tuxedo stripe, button tabs, cargo pockets, functioning zipper fly –let me say that a little louder, Functioning Zipper Fly!   Melissa from Melly Sews and Blank Slate Patterns, that’s who.

She and three other designers have come together to give you a group of spring patterns called The Sun & Surf Collection.  All the patterns are adorable and perfect for spring sewing. The collection is only for sale until March 24!

So give the nice ladies your money, because they just want to teach you how to make awesome clothes!

Sun & Surf at Sew a Straight Line | Sun & Surf at It’s Always Autumn | Sun & Surf at Elsie Marley | Sun & Surf at A Girl and a Glue Gun | Sun & Surf at Mama Says Sew | Sun & Surf at Girl, Inspired | Sun & Surf at Groovybaby and Mama | Sun & Surf at The Cottage Home | Sun & Surf at Craftiness is Not Optional | Sun & Surf at Skirtastop | Sun & Surf at Straight Grain | Sun & Surf at Me Sew Crazy | Sun & Surf at Delia Creates | Sun & Surf at Max California

When my kids ask me what’s for dinner and I tell them kale and apple salad is on the menu, they actually do a little dance. Crazy, right? I still can’t believe how much they love this salad. It is ridiculously simple and super healthy too. Doesn’t get better than that.

I think the appeal might have something to do with how I cut the kale. Big leaves of kale make your salad tough and chewy. But thin, noodle-y strips of kale make a light and crunchy salad. To do this, strip the kale leaves off the thick ribs and roll them into a long bundle (if it’s easier to handle, make two bundles). Cutting perpendicular to the bundle, with your sharpest knife, cut the kale into thin strips.

A grated apple and some vinegar-y dressing is all that is needed to finish this salad off.  I like my dressing to be almost equal parts vinegar and oil, which might sound a little strong, but works with a mild vinegar. Rice wine vinegar is my favorite, but either white wine or apple cider vinegar would work too. The vinegar also breaks down the kale a bit. It helps to massage the kale after you mix it with the dressing. I feel like a fool every time I do it, but don’t skip this step.  Massage your kale! Everyone needs a little love.

kale and apple salad

for the salad

• one bunch kale
• one tart apple (I like pink lady apples)

for the dressing

• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• salt & pepper

 

Mix up your dressing in a medium-sized bowl. Cut your kale in thin strips. Mix the kale with the dressing. Massage your kale! Grate an apple on top. Mix and serve. You can make the salad ahead of time, but don’t mix the apple in until right before you serve it. Enjoy!