"Hearty" Beef Stew

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There's been a good bit of stress in my life the past couple of days. So, with the sun shining and the breeze of a 63 degree January day blowing through my screen door, I set out to clear my head by cutting vegetables in the kitchen. There's nothing really as stress relieving as spending time hearing the chop on the cutting board, or feeling the heat from the stove top as you gingerly stir something bubbling in a pot, or my most favorite,  dancing around in your kitchen while something simmers. Being a crazy creative person, there's no "just" making something. You need to make it with pizazz. I set out today to make "hearty" beef stew.

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Pinterest is filled to the brim with valentine's day ideas, and while perusing the endless pins, I came upon one that showed how to cut carrots into hearts. "YES!" I exclaimed to an empty room, "this is perfect!" But, why do carrots get all the love? Why not the potatoes too? I dug around in my cookie cutter drawer and found the smallest heart cutter I had, sliced up some potatoes and voila! heart potatoes. The rest is just normal beef stew. I love stew because you can put absolutely anything you want into it and it is going to be awesome. All the root vegetables you have on hand can go into a pot and with a few herbs and some spice, you have a soul warming dinner. Below is the recipe I stick to on a normal day, but feel free to tinker with it to suit your tastes or to clear out the fridge.

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 "Hearty" Beef Stew
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
4 potatoes, cut into hearts if you are feeling creative!
4 carrots, carve those things up!
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can whole tomatoes, chopped with juice
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups beef broth
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon rosemary
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
chuck roast (amount depends on how meaty you like your stew)
flour, just enough to coat beef
olive oil

Rinse and pat dry beef. Cut into cubes. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a dutch oven (or other heavy bottomed pot). Place beef in a bowl, sprinkle with salt, pepper and flour. Toss to coat. Once the olive oil is hot, place flour-coated beef in pot. If it doesn't sizzle, your oil is not hot enough, let it heat a little longer and try again. Let beef brown on all sides, turning every couple of minutes. Once beef is browned, remove from pot and place on a plate. Deglaze the pot using a splash of red wine or water, however you see fit. Scrape up all the chunky beef bits from the bottom. Toss in the onion, celery, garlic, oregano, rosemary, red pepper flakes and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook until the onion is tender and slightly translucent, 5-10 minutes. If the onion starts to stick, add a little more red wine or water. Add tomato paste, stirring to coat. Once the tomato paste is heated and fragrant, add potatoes, carrots and canned tomatoes. Heat the mixture thoroughly. Pour in the beef stock and bring to a boil. Next, stir in browned beef. Add lemon juice and fresh parsley. This will really brighten the flavors. Cover and simmer on low for 30-45 minutes. Add more beef stock or water if needed. Enjoy!

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P.S.
Carving vegetables tends to create a lot of waste. I ran my scraps through the food processor and will have amazing carrot and potato hash browns in the morning. You'll be amazed at how good they are.

 

Let's Dance! 2012 was awesome.

I have to admit that 2012 was a hell of a year. I quit my day job and became the full time crafter I'd always wanted to be. In all, I visited half of the states in the union and enjoyed (almost) every one. I swam with dolphins, stood on mountains overlooking the Great Salt Lake and drove a whole bunch of miles in a 17 day cross country adventure with my best friend. I learned the ins and outs of being my own boss, which has become a daily lesson with homework. I packed and unpacked craft show supplies so many times I felt I was living out of a box. I met innumerable amounts of people and sold my animals and rattles to happy craft show attendees. Speaking of! Here are my top five for 2012.

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#5: Handmade Arcade-Pittsburgh, PA
I loved this show because of the venue in which it was held, most of all. Lots of natural light, lots of fun vendors, my road weary mom and a really amazing soft pretzel. The people were friendly and I had GREAT booth neighbors. I stitched a lot during this show and it was fun to answer questions about my product and the process that goes into making them. Also, driving the highway system of Pittsburgh always makes me feel like I'm in a real life video game. I'm glad I got out with all of my lives.

 

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#4: Bloomington Handmade Market-Bloomington, IN
The Market is held really close to my home town near the campus of Indiana University which always makes the crowd really diverse. I love this show mostly because it gives me a chance to look at the new products so many of my art friends are putting out. It just feels like home walking into the convention center and seeing smiling, sleepy faces ready for a day of selling.

 

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#3: Porter Flea-Nashville, TN
The Porter Flea is AMAZING. There, I said it. I loved this show. It was packed most of the day. I sold everything I took. My mom got to squeal while meeting the infamous Mike from American Pickers. (He really was a very nice guy.) And the venue. Oh, the venue. I almost cried when I walked into Marathon Music Works. It's this beautifully renovated, yet still industrial, warm well-lit space that you just felt like a cool guy walking into.  The Porter Flea Team is the sweetest; super organized and helpful and really, really beautiful. I can't wait to go back!

 

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#2: Art Star Craft Bazaar-Philadelphia, PA
This was my second year vending at Art Star Craft Bazaar. Everything about this event is just such a joy. It's held at Penn's Landing in South Philly right along Delaware River. This past year the temperature was perfect, the sun was shining and I got to chat with Phil Barbato, whom I obsess over on the internet. Louis always drives me out and we get to spend some time in the Lehigh Valley. Overall, just the perfect May event.

 

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#1: Renegade Chicago-Chicago, IL

Chicago is one of those places I find people either have a love affair with or they can't stand it. I'm one of those love affair people. There's something really exciting and accessible about the city itself. But the Wicker Park neighborhood where Renegade Chicago is held? It's like walking into someone's home. You feel invited and in good cheer. The craft fair itself is all hustle and bustle and cool kids doing what cool kids do: making awesome things. I always feel on top of my game at this show. I sell a lot of animals to a lot of nice people and I have SO MUCH FUN! Plus, there's the world's best tacos in Franklin Park.

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My goal for 2013 is just to grow bigger and stronger. Both as a person and a plush designer. I want to go to more craft shows and test new lines. I want to make new art friends and eat at more taco stands. I want to drive to new places and take pictures. I want to learn how to actually keep receipts together and not just in a glad container. (yeah, I'm THAT girl.) But mainly, I just wanna dance. I want to throw out all of my inhibitions and just let go and enjoy myself.

Let's hit the floor like Robyn. Are you with me?



 

The Wind and the Sail gets COLORFUL!

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While the weather outside has been frightful, the creativity that cabin fever brings has been delightful. The other day while sitting around thinking about the next year of animal and rattle making, I said to myself, "I want COLOR!" I quickly jumped on dickblick.com and in a late night shopping spree bought myself the greatest christmas present ever; 16 new fresh Jacquard Procion Dyes to keep myself newly inspired. This tangled mess of fabric is five days worth of amazement and excitement as I stood over my kitchen sink with a timer and a stick stirring fabric and watching colors shift before my eyes. In the next coming days, I can't wait to show you what becomes of this colorful fabric!

Mr. Bun!

 

A little while ago, I got a really sweet email from a mom looking to purchase another rattle from our ever growing rattle gang. She wrote:

"I purchased one of your bunny rattles last year at Art vs. Craft in Milwaukee. He's now known as Mr. Bun and is much loved by my seven-month-old (ears = delicious, apparently)....Mr. Bun is in great shape. His neck is the perfect size for her hand and she loves chewing on his ears and the top of his head. It's been a great help while she's teething."

It's always so great to hear from my customers. I love that little Mathilde is enjoying Mr. Bun! I think the bunny rattle has just been officially renamed! 

Follow me over to our new website...

If you'd like to see more, please visit my blog over at 

THE WIND AND THE SAIL

You'll find updates, tutorials and lots of fun! Have a look!

The Wind and The Sail on Martha Stewart Living!

As many of you know, I'm the world's biggest Martha Stewart Fan. She is a true inspiration. In my living room, stacked ever so lovingly in a tall column, is every single Martha Stewart Living Magazine ever printed. No lie. The stack is taller than I am and I am not a short girl. So, please if you will, imagine my squeal of excitement when a fine web editor sent me an email asking if I'd like to send her some of my plush toys to be featured on the website. I think I smiled even when I went to bed that night. A small part of my life's wish had come true!

AND HERE IT IS!! 

That's our very own Mr. Alligator proudly strutting his stuff on the Living daily inspiration! (quite inspiring, don't you think?!) This was the perfect way to round out the year. You won't believe what's coming in 2013!

I'm stuck.

I've had a creative jam lately.

photo by louis capwell

I'm trying to overcome it with lots of blog reading, lots of bike riding and lots and lots of home projects. Like rearranging furniture and making new curtains. Soon, hopefully very soon, I'll be back in the swing of making.

Until then, you can find me in a few places:

CraftSanity just put out there fall issue!  Inside you can find out how to make your own Jefferson Camel!

And! I'm over at MollieMakes today! MollieMakes is a craft lifestyle magazine from the UK! I absolutely adore it! I feel so privileged to be a part of their blog! 

And keep on sewing! I'll be back at my machine in no time.