Tag: videos

a bloggy play date

April 10th, 2011 · Bambino Steps (Kimberly) ·

Spring cherry blossoms, photo by Kendra

A few weeks back Babe and I were invited to Kendra’s home for a morning play date. Prior to this I had never met a fellow blogger face-to-face before (except that one time I ran into Melissa at Bolt and was like, “uhh…hi…I read your blog…you are totally cool…and now I’m embarrassed and must run away”) and it was incredibly fun to do so. As a bonus, my boy was teething* quite badly and it was a welcome distraction for the both of us. Kendra has a beautiful, inviting home that smells like wonderful dried herbs and incense, decorated with nature and loving, handmade items throughout. The beautiful spring blossoms you see above were a parting gift and have really brightened up our cave of a living room.

Kendra also lent me the book Nourishing Traditions, after mentioning it in the comments awhile back. I’ve always wanted to check this book out and I highly recommend it. The book is well written with easy-to-navigate chapters, and is chock full of nutritious and mindful, basic and more involved, holistic, old-world recipes. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed using it as a resource for how long to soak beans, and it also delves into soaking other foods such as whole grains and nuts and even has a chapter on breastfeeding and foods for babies.

Standing in her living room, Kendra wearing her new baby in the sling, our boys causing ruckus, we drank tea, ate popcorn and raw “cheese” cashew cake and folded laundry. I felt like old friends. After our meeting, Kendra posted a thoughtful and touching post on blogging and making connections online and in-person. Her reflective words and links were so beautiful that I can only say: ditto. Okay, I’ll also say that even though I have loved reading Kendra’s blog, enjoyed her creations and beautiful photographs of her children, and have gotten to know her better through commenting, I can’t say that I ever would have reached out to her, even though we live a mere 10 minutes away. Would she say yes to hanging out? Would it seem totally weird and stalkerish? What if she said no? What if we didn’t mesh well? All those thoughts swirled in my head and never allowed me to try for a more real connection. I am so thankful that she allowed herself to be vulnerable and make the first step. I’ll leave you with a thoughtful and at times humorous video, the same that Kendra shared, as I think it perfectly matches the occasion.

* Check out Kendra’s latest post, natural teething remedies, for some helpful, alternative solutions.

Share
Love, Remember 15 comments - Tags: , , , ,

how to roast coffee beans

January 14th, 2011 · Bambino Steps (Kimberly) ·

Today I’m going to teach you how to roast your own coffee beans. Oh yes my friends, you can DO THIS!

My husband has like, 8,000 interests. Often fleeting, one day he might be obsessed with researching home-sausage making, the next he’ll tell me how he’s going to make us a mattress. Okaaaaaay. Neat. One activity that has stood the test of time, much like home-brewing, is home-roasting. Double neat! He’s been home-roasting for over a year now and I have to say, it’s a fun activity, makes fantastic gifts, reduces packaging waste and saves loads of money. Let’s get roasting!

Supplies:

  • green coffee beans (see resources below)
  • electric air popcorn popping machine (check your local thrift shop. We found two machines for $1 each)
  • wooden spoon or other utensil – optional
  • stainless steel colander or mixing bowl
  • container(s) for storage

Step One – Prep

If you don’t want your entire home smelling like coffee, head outside. Plug in the machine and add enough beans so they spin freely but not bouncing around like mad. It’s about 3/4 cup. Now watch those beans whirl!

Step Two – Roast

The most compelling reason to roast your own beans is to control the blend and body of roast. The possibilities are endless! You can use just one type of bean in a roast or several. This particular batch is a blend of Tanzanian Peaberry and Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, which was super tasty. We let our beans whirl for quite awhile, until the second crack (in the bean) resulting in a dark roast, deemed between a Full City Plus and a Vienna Roast. If this is too much mumbo jumbo for you, I assure you it’s really easy and I’ve added additional resources for you at the bottom of this post. Fist bump!

Step Three – Cool Your Beans

When the beans are done roasting, carefully transfer the beans (they’ll be hot! hot! hot!) to the colander or mixing bowl. Allow the beans to cool. If you’re making a large batch, simply transfer them to a larger container once your next batch has finished. Blowing on the beans is optional. So is wearing a lion mask. UPDATE: see Mister’s comment for more information.

Step Four - Store/Package



Once the beans have cooled simply transfer them to the container(s) of your choice. Be sure not to put the lid on! The lid needs to stay off for about 12 hours to allow the beans to off-gas; and no taste tastes for about 24 hours. It’s worth the wait. Personally, we store beans on the counter top or in the freezer and grind on demand. I’m curious to know your method! Coffee and tea rituals are super fascinating to me.

Roasting Resources:

Coffee Enthusiasm:

Share
2. Preserve, 3. Winter, 8. Drink, Mangia 23 comments - Tags: , , , , , ,

sewing and fabric links

January 12th, 2011 · Bambino Steps (Kimberly) ·

Beautiful, no? Several weeks ago Aunt Bea’s Fabric hooked me up with a hunk of More Antique Treasures by Paintbrush Studio for Fabri-Quilt. Stay tuned for what I stitched up.


I picked up the new Cherry House Quilts pattern, The Tempest, and Oliver & S’s Nature Walk Pullover and Knit Pants pattern yesterday. All patterns and books are 20% off right now through the 16th at Bolt. I’m itching to go back for more!

And speaking of fabric and stitching and all of that, I thought I’d share with you a handful of related links that I currently have bookmarked:

  • Found via Bolt Neighborhood, Whipstitch wrote up this fantastic post about how environmental factors have forced an increase in fabric prices this year. It’s now more important than ever to shop at your local fabric shops and independently owned online fabric retailers. In order to keep things affordable for my family (and sew “greener”), I plan to pair new fabric with re-purposed fabric from old clothes, towels, blankets, etc.
  • I’m beyond-obsessed with the Negroni pattern from Colette Patterns. And Mister looks amazing in a button-down.
  • Speaking of Colette Patterns, sign-up for their new weekly sewing tips newsletter and you’ll get useful tips delivered to your inbox every week.


  • Portland Mercury released the above sketch from the anticipated Pendleton Portland Collection. Read more about it here and see even more sketches here. I have loved Pendleton’s previous collaborative work and I am so stoked to see the final product of this collection. A Portland secret is the Pendleton Woolen Mill Store; a treasure trove of amazing fabrics, notions and “woolly worms.”
  • Next week I’ll be starting another sewing class (eek! ack! yea!) at Portland Sewing. Look out folks: I’ll come out learning how to add a zipper!
  • Modern Domestic still has open spots left in some of their classes. I was *this close* to snagging the last spot in Elizabeth Hartman’s quilting class, but alas, I didn’t act fast enough.
  • Kaffe Fassett might just be my favorite fabric designer. The striped shot cottons that are out right now are driving me batty. The good kind of batty.

Ha! I just realized that virtually every link in this post is local. So in keeping with that theme, I’ll leave you with a music video from the new mini series Portlandia, the brain child of SNL’s Fred Armisen and Sleater Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein. It’s genius. Advanced screenings are happening in Portland this week; the show airs January 21.

What’s happening in your sewing world?

Share
1. Sew, Create 12 comments - Tags: , , , , ,

link love

August 4th, 2010 · Bambino Steps (Kimberly) ·

I feel as if it’s important to begin this post with a link to stuff.

support our land

how-to peel peaches

paper dresses

photo courtesy of craft

learning

homemade toothpaste

bird hunts

stories and interviews

yarn yum

photo courtesy of sfgirlbybay

sidewalk paint

cozy hot water bottles (found via sfgirlbybay)

photo courtesy of papa stour

Enjoy your day!

Share
Love One comment - Tags: , , ,

fava beans: not just for cannibals

June 29th, 2010 · Bambino Steps (Kimberly) ·

Now that you’re hungry, I’d like to give you a side dish idea for the upcoming holiday: Fava Bean Salad with Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette. This salad takes a bit of prep work, but it’s incredibly delicious and garlicky. I toasted the walnuts and roasted the garlic in my toaster oven (which according to reviews sucks, but I love it!) to save energy and not heat up the house. It was the first time I had ever cooked fava beans before; I just couldn’t pass them up while at the grand opening of the Pioneer Courthouse Square farmer’s market.

I forgot to add the feta (shame considering the awesomeness of this creamy homestead feta), but it was delicious nonetheless. My husband just raved about it and asked for this to be included in my repertoire. So often I make dishes never to be repeated again, not because they were icky, but because there are just so many incredible recipes to try out there!

Mangia!

P.S. – I’m looking for new food blogs to challenge my culinary skills. Anyone have any recommendations?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Share
5. Summer, Mangia 3 comments - Tags: , , ,