Harts and Crafts Blog | Creative Jubilee

New Year, New Hobby

By Christina Lee| January 2nd, 2018|Humbling Hobbies and Habits|

New year, new hobby. Why not?! With all these apps at my fingertips, it’s easy to flip through them on my spare time and convenient to find myself nonetheless entertaining a new hobby. This time around, I became enamored by those Midori travelers’ notebooks, and for some reason, everywhere I click, it only seems to be pointing me in the direction of more of these Midori notebooks and paper stock. Those darn retargetting ads!

Well, I’ve always been fond of Japanese stationary, pens, notebooks and paper. If you leave me in Maido, I might by the entire story… that is if my credit card can handle it. Just to give you an idea of the damage, I bought two leather covers from Asia, another from the UK, packets of paper stock and calendars from Toad Studio, extra rubber bands and a handful of accessories — and that’s only to get started. Now that I’ve got all my supplies, I can begin journaling (!)

When I think of journaling, I think of keeping a diary. It’s easy for me to get overwhelmed and hard for me to make a commitment. There’s this new thing I’ve been meaning to try — and it’s not your traditional journaling, it’s more or less bullet journaling, or what they would say “the intersection between mindfulness and productivity.” It’s a method jourrnaling that is customizable and more forgiving, and it combines my passion of journaling, creating to-do lists, doodling and line drawing. It’s notebook and sketchbook all in one, and you can get as creative as you’d like with ink and paper, and other memorabilia.

One of the goals for this year is topping my Goodreads Reading Challenge from last year. The number to exceed is the lucky number of 44. Am I up for this year’s challenge? Heck yes, and with my Midori notebook in hand, I’m ready to begin tallying up those books.

Hope you have a Happy New Year and may your year be filled with new hobbies and habits to take you to the next level.

Getting into the Christmas Spirit

By Christina Lee| December 25th, 2017|Holiday Fun, In the Kitchen|

Some people need a little motivation getting into the Christmas spirit while others just fall naturally into the holiday spirit. For those who need that extra little push after the Christmas shopping and gift wrapping buzz, consider these fun, easy-to-make recipes to impress your guests and dress up your table escape. The first idea came from those hard-to-resist Tasty videos you see on your Facebook feed. Because I just keep watching them and saving them, they show me more and more. And this video of the making the Christmas Tree Pull Apart Bread was one that I couldn’t resist bookmarking. It’s a short one minute clip that guides you through making this beautiful display in just about 30 minutes. Plus, after watching this video, you’ll find most ingredients are easy to grab at the grocery store: Pillsbury ready-made dough, pesto sauce, tomato sauce, Mozzarella, pecans and a pinch of seasoning.

On top of making a number of side dishes, this was one I could easily do right before all the guests came. It’s as easy as pulling out all the store bought ingredients and just begin working down the line. Grab a slice of ready made dough, slather the inside with red or green sauce, put a slice of Mozzarella in the center and wrap it up. Shape the balls of dough into a tree and decorate the outside as you’d like. I chose to sprinkle both pesto and marinara sauce across and dress it up with pecans. No, I did not use the sprinkles and icing, but I did top it off with a snowflake cookie.

While your guests are arriving and your prime rib is waiting for its debut on the Christmas table, it’s always good to have an activity — especially one that brings out your ‘inner kid’. Decorating Christmas cookies is a fun activity for all ages. It just takes your favorite sugar cookie recipe, holiday cookie cutters and a bit of prep work in advance, meaning you’ll need to bake and cool a few tray of these before the sprinkles and icing hit the table. When they do, the cookies will go fast!

Enjoy your holiday. From my family to yours, Merry Christmas!

Scrumptious Thanksgiving Sides

By Christina Lee| November 25th, 2017|Holiday Fun, In the Kitchen|

We all know that setting the table for a Thanksgiving feast wouldn’t be complete without the side dishes that accompany the turkey. And every year, I take pride in knowing that I get to prepare a few of the sides. My specialty happen to be the healthy, yet not so healthy duo of yams and brussels sprouts. Since they’ve become such a hit at family gatherings, they’ve become the undisputed side dish duo that I prepare annually. Knowing that everyone likes a helping or two during dinner and another bite post Thanksgiving dinner, I’ve made double the servings for each.

We all know that yams alone are not always as fun to eat and since it’s Thanksgiving, I’m going to dress them up and slather them in butter. I mean, come on, Thanksgiving only comes around once a year.

At the store, I start by picking out a handful of these orange-skinned sweet potatoes. Then I give them a good scrub and bake them in the oven for 45 minutes or until it’s soft in the center and the sweetness comes oozing out of the skin. Separately, I bake the pecans for 10-15 minutes until they become brown and crispy. It’s fine to sample a few until you are happy with the crunch. As the pecans bake, I remove the skin from the yams and transfer them to another bowl. I mash them until they are silky smooth and I am pleased with the texture. In the microwave, I melt a cup of butter and set a portion aside for the pecans and a portion for the yams in order to give it that creamy, buttery taste. In a separate bowl, I stir in a scoop of brown sugar with the remaining cup of butter and blend in the baked pecans. I drizzle the pecan and brown sugar butter mix on top of the yams and bake them together for another 15 minutes. And then, they are done! Be prepared for your kitchen to smell nice and sweet. And, don’t pick off the pecans!

One side dish done and one more to go! This time, I’m making my classic brussels sprouts with pancetta and caramelized onions. This is a dish that I love and it never fails, except if your are vegan or vegetarian, but still even they ended up trying a bite during Thanksgiving dinner. This is a very simple recipe with powerful flavors and textures. I start by slicing the brussels sprouts into halves and throw it into the frying pan with extra virgin olive oil and fresh garlic. I do the same with the onions. Both take a fair amount of time to cook over the stove.

Once the brussels sprouts are cooked halfway through I slide in the pancetta and let the fat seep in. Then I throw in a splash of white wine and bring the flavors together. When the onions are caramelized, they join the mix. Sprinkle in some salt and pepper, then top it off with slivered almonds. And just like that, you have your second side dish.

Together, the yams and brussels sprouts join the other sides as the turkey sits front and center. I was lucky to sneak in a photo just before the forks and knives came flying in.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Zierikzee’s Classic Wooden Windmill

By Christina Lee| October 8th, 2017|Creative Inspiration, Humbling Hobbies and Habits, Painting|

On my way to the Netherlands, I stopped by Zierikzee, a quaint town 30 km from Rotterdam. Zierikzee is known for its legendary harbour, houseboat enclaves, enchanting boutique shops and historic townhouses and homes. The city itself is quite charming and convenient for an afternoon stop on the way to Amsterdam. I spent most of my time weaving my way through the neighborhood and admiring the cozy-looking Danish houses. I couldn’t help but wonder what it’d be like to spend the night and wake up to this beautiful harbour. With just a few hours in town I walked along the waterway, snuck into a few bakery stores, bought three pairs of shoes, then got led astray in the fields of green and stole a snapshot of this classic wooden windmill. I stood in front of that towering windmill for quite some time admiring the view… that is until it rained and I had to get back on the bus. Nevertheless, this classic, historic windmill was only one that I could imagine seeing in movies or a painting, so standing right in front of it was surreal.

Months later, I’m still thinking about this picturesque scene and replaying the adventure in my mind. One of the ways to bring this moment back to life is by taking out my paint pad and acrylics, and capturing the memory on paper. I’ve only recently started to explore landscape painting and find depicting nature (fields, bodies of water, mountains) much more interesting than still life.

Well, here’s my spin on the classic wooden windmill of Zierikzee. I hope it inspires you to travel to Holland sometime and experience this wonderful view for yourself.

Summer Vegetable Medley

By Christina Lee| September 4th, 2017|In the Kitchen|

With record-breaking temperatures in the Bay Area, it’s about time I enjoy my first BBQ of the summer. I’m quite certain that when my uncle hosts a family BBQ, hamburgers, hot dogs, drum sticks and ribs are top of mind for him and most of the men in the family. At least that’s one thing I will be able to check off of my shopping list. But I’m not one to forget about those scrumptious sides and inspiring ways for everyone to get a dose of their daily greens. In the spirit of summer, I say we go beyond green and throw in a splash of red, orange, yellow and even purple!

Needless to say, the vegetable aisle at Trader Joe’s is quite colorful. I found myself rifling through bags of rainbow colored carrots; luscious green asparagus; hearty yellow squash; zesty zucchini; and red, yellow and blue potatoes. Of course, fresh rosemary and thyme were still within an arm’s reach, so I included that in my cart as well. The best part was laying out the garden fresh vegetables on my counter top and admiring the smell and taste of summer within my own home.

I sliced the carrots, diced the potatoes and piled one vegetable on top of another making sure each color is vibrant and visible at every angle. Then I drizzled it with extra virgin olive oil and topped it with a sprig of rosemary and thyme. With a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and a handful of garlic cloves, it was ready to go into the 400 degree oven. Within minutes, the flavors began to pop and really come together. I guess that’s why they call it “the sweet taste of summer”!

Waking Up to Banana Chips In the Morning

By Christina Lee| August 3rd, 2017|In the Kitchen|

It’s not until I spend quite a bit of money at the grocery store buying healthy snacks do I remember I have a dehydrator tucked behind the storage cabinet. Well, today was my lucky day. Just as I caught myself picking up a bag of banana chips, I stopped myself at midpoint from dropping it into the shopping cart. Instead I decided to walk down the produce aisle and pick up a bunch of ripe bananas. By the time I headed out the door, not only was I secretly smiling on the inside partly because I made the right decision to purchase a healthy snack, but also because I was excited to whip out the dehydrator. It was that simple and all I had to do was slice the bananas in halves, cut them into thirds, place them on the dehydrator and wait. That’s it. No added sugar or preservatives.

And 14 hours later, you have chewy golden brown banana chips. This is the moment I pop some of these into my mouth and then bag the rest for later. If you’re not a fan of chewy banana chips, then you have one more step, which is to place them into the oven for five to ten minutes so you can get that crunch.

Celebrating 20 Years: I Conquered Scrapbook Expo

By Christina Lee| July 29th, 2017|Craft Day, Learning from the best, Oh My Crafts!, Painting|

I didn’t strike the gong this time around, but I should have because I conquered Scrapbook Expo 2017! I’ve been going with Susanna to Scrapbook Expo for years, more years than I can even count. It must be somewhere in the high single digits if not early double digits. This time around, Susanna and I are celebrating the 20th Anniversary with Keely and her ten year old daughters, so we reserved a table of five. Now it’s time to get our free scrapbook packets and our totes, and off to the expo we go. I guarantee that none of us will come back empty-handed.

While everyone is in a scrapbook frenzy and off to the expo for some shopping, I am holding down the fort. And since I had just gotten back from my trip to Belgium and Holland, I couldn’t help but find a way to relive those iconic scenes from The Netherlands. Cruising up and down the beautifully laced canals, enjoying Dutch cheese, meeting my business partner and admiring the architecture was mesmerizing. As I flip through the photos and memories, I am inspired more than ever to pick up my paint brush, dust off the palette and paint this picturesque view.

So it seems like the gang is not yet ready to begin scrapbooking, so I’ll need to go out for some extra reinforcement. Ample text and photo messages suggest I should go directly to the back of the expo to the Kreative Kreations booth where I can join the others in picking up a new hobby and pouring endless hours into adhering a gazillion diamond dots onto a sticky canvas. Well, Kreative Kreations, I’m sold and can’t wait to begin working on Van Gogh’s “Cafe at Night. “

Only the Finest Belgium Chocolates

By Christina Lee| July 1st, 2017|In the Kitchen, Learning from the best|

In the bustling city center of Bruges where every other store is of chocolate, tapestry or beer, it’s only fitting that Rick Steve’s Heart of Belgium Tour includes a chocolate demonstration on the agenda. We ended visiting the kitchen of Chef Kevin at L’Atelier Du Chocolat, a family-owned business operating for over three generations. Both Chef Kevin and his brother fully staff, operate and run this artisan chocolatier. They’re constantly on their toes: manning the kitchen, creating new truffle recipes, developing an online presence, and perfecting the taste and texture — all while keep up with an ear full of orders and replenishing the shelves.

The root of developing fine Belgium chocolate comes from the quality of the cocoa bean. Chef Kevin buys them from Vietnam and Guatemala, and will oftentimes make the trip to these countries to ensure the quality of the raw beans. Harvesting the cocoa pods are a very lengthy and labor-intensive process, and usually gathered every few weeks during peak harvest season. Processing the cocoa beans involves six main steps: fermentation, drying and bagging, winnowing, roasting, grinding and processing before you can set your taste buds on the rich buttery flavor.

The chocolate itself is packaged into ten pound blocks and stored in the kitchen until the chocolatier determines its fate. In the above, Chef Kevin melted the block of chocolate and poured it into his truffle mold. After removing the excess chocolate, he sets it aside until it hardens and then is able to fill it with a creamy granache or fruity centre. Topping it off with another layer of chocolate coats the dessert centre before it is ready for packaging.

Because truffles have a very short shelf life, they must be consumed within a few days of making, which is no problem for a group such as ours. In no time, Chef Kevin provided us a tray full of an assortment of beautifully crafted, authentic Belgium truffles. The decision was tough. Each bite-sized, petit truffle was handcrafted with careful attention to detail and unlike any of the truffles I’ve seen in the states. I ended up selecting one that resembled an emerald gem and to my surprise, the creamy, luxurious center that melted in my mouth was smooth blend of match green tea perfection. I don’t think taste buds will ever forget that rich, decadent flavor.

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