No Impact Yogurt

Colin Beavin wrote a book and filmed a documentary called No Impact Man. Here is an article from his blog about making your own yogurt, thus eliminating the plastic cups. Sounds easy and interesting...

Darling Daughter absolutely loved the Rutabega Bake I made for our Christmas dinner. I was very pleased about this since most of the ingredients came from my garden and she's somewhat a picky vegetable eater. I was able to to use the carrots, rutabegas and herbs from my garden. Here is the recipe if you are at a loss for how to cook winter garden vegetables. You can add any vegetable in this, it's a flexible recipe.

Tina's Rutabega Recipe

2 large or 3 medium rutabegas, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
6 large red potatoes, NOT peeled, cut into 2 inch chunks
3 carrots sliced
1 stick of butter plus a little more
1 small tub of sour cream
s & p to taste
1 T of dried or 2 T of fresh herbs of choice

Boil root veges until tender, about 30 minutes, drain. Place in baking dish. Pile on the rest of the ingredients and mash/stir. Slice pats of butter and place on top. Broil in broiler until top is nice and toasty, about 20-30 minutes. Enjoy!!

Rutabegas are a memeber of the turnip family, it has a very mild turnip flavor. It's loaded with nutrients too! It is a good source of Dietary Fiber, Thiamin, Vitamin B6, Calcium (8% RDV), Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Vitamin C (53% of your RDV), Potassium and Manganese.

Potatoes when not fried are very nutritious also. It is also a good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Potassium and Manganese.

Carrots of course, is good for you. It is also a good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin and Potassium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6 and Manganese.

I like to put this nutritional data out there for your edification and to ameliorate my guilt for adding a 'stick of butter and a cup of cream'!

Secret Elves At Work Along 2222/MoPac

That's pretty cool Pam....

Blue Earth Guild

I met up with a bunch of great gals at Sustainable Fibers Yarn Mill in Elgin for some good old-fashioned knitt'n and weav'n. The idea is to bring your unfinished objects and snack to share, talk about anything, ask for help on yarn stuff and have fun. Complaining Observations about all things are welcome:p
Here is my work in progress or WIP.

This is for darling daughter knitted on a pair of interchangeable KA's circular needles size 3 with some sock yarn from Germany. It's Merino and the company is Zitron. I don't know the website but this online store carries the brand.







Next is a beautiful, this pic does not do it justice, blanket that is being sewn together from a bunch of triangles that were woven on a triangle loom.












Finally, Jacqueline shows her skull snowflake hat she is knitting for darling husband;) Here she is using Fair Isle knitting.

Yesterdays Harvest

I am truly sorry if this bores you but this makes me giddy! Lettuce, Kale, Turnips, Swiss Chard.

Donna's Turkey Salad

My sister has an amazing repetoir of culinary greatness and her Turkey Salad is truly awesome. It can be hard for our families to get together, especially when I work every Thanksgiving. This salad we usually have with her leftover turkey the day after. I love, love this salad and would like to share it with you, especially since it's sooooo easy. You can easily substitute roasted chicken. Ingredients: 1 C green apple chopped, 3 celery stalks chopped, 3 green onions sliced, 1 C cheddar cheese cubed, 2 T lemon juice, 1/2 C mayo. Toss and eat!
You can have this on a bed of greens, in a pita, on really good bread, in a wrap. Enjoy!

Holiday By The Tracks In Elgin Tomorrow, 12/4

Mad City Chicks will be at the Holiday By The Tracks celebration in downtown Elgin. We will be at the craft fair by the Library from 10-4. If you are having yarn withdrawals, stop by Sustainable Fibers just past the tracks for some yarn petting. They will be open until 8pm on Saturday as well as 7:30 tonight to help anyone with their knitting/crocheting projects. Conveniently, they are next door to Coffee Catz, serving Elginites hot and cold beverages for 9 months now.