Fall Garland

Fall is upon us and I think this is my favorite time of the year. Cooler weather, warm earthy colors and the transition from warm weather clothing to cool weather clothing. It is also time for comfort food, hot chocolate and time with family by the fire. Here in California we don't get that fall foliage folks do in the east coast; so we have to find ways to bring it into our home decorating! Here is a cheap way to do just that!

Go to your local dollar tree (love this store) and pick up some fake leaves. At 50 a pack you can't beat it!

Rev up that sewing machine of yours and find a complimentary thread color! I am rocking the orange with this one!

Lets get ready to sew! This is a great beginner sewing project. It does not require perfection.

As you have your foot gently on the foot press, feed those leaves through random like. Keep going till you get to your desired length.

After awhile you will get something like this...

Keep going! When your done knot off the ends and hang it up to enjoy.

Now sit in front of your new garland with a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy your fabulously cheap and beautiful creation!

                                                               Happy crafting!

~Misguided Maiden

Salsa Sunday: Watermelon Salsa

Here in California we are enjoying the last bit of watermelon season with gusto! My son loves to eat watermelon and when it is sweet it can be the most refreshing snack! You really can't blame him really for loving it. So here is a simple, refreshing and effective salsa that sends the watermelon season off on a great note!

I usually let my son do the picking since he loves watermelons so much, so we usually end up getting one at the farmers market that is small; which is OK since we can then get one each week during the season!

Oh YUM!

Get your melon ready to dice. Try not to just eat it all right now.

Now dice it up and give some to your son to keep him from attacking the salsa before it is made.

As you can see from the bowl above, there is no jalapeno. I would greatly advise adding it for the adult version. However, this one is for a toddler, who likes a little spice but is being weaned into jalapeno territory.

Stir it up, add some lime and salt and you have something that even  the watermelon gods would find irresistible.

Watermelon Salsa

1/2 of a small watermelon, diced into small cubes

1/2 a bunch of cilantro (stems and leaves), washed and diced

1/2 of a small red onion, finely diced

1 jalapeno (adult version), diced

lime and salt to taste

*Optional: Crumbled queso fresco! This add a whole new dimension to the salsa...trust me.*

Buen Provecho!

Misguided Maiden

Salsa Sunday: To Fig or Not to Fig

That is the question....

Well I received some beautiful ladies from a co-worker and thought to myself: "Could I do it? Can a fig be made into a delicious salsa?"

Well I went for it and scarified a few tasty figs for the good of salsa discovery...alas, I came up with this epic fail (see below).

Please believe me when I say this: do not mix figs with cilantro. JUST DON'T! You have been warned.

Now being the stubborn Latina that I am I set to the task to figure out how to make this all work. Down to the basics. Chop up the ingredients and taste different combos a la ratatouille (the Pixar movie). With that I came up with this pleasant combination. Avocado, Fig and Queso Fresco. What transpired into tastiness got these wheels turning. Hmmmm....

This (above) is queso fresco. And it is a delicious salty cheese. 

It crumbles beautifully and is tasty on almost anything.

With avocados...

And diced figs...

This gal set out to make some guacamole! 

After mashing your avocado you fold in your fig and cheese.

Oh yes....

And then eat to your hearts content. It has a wonderfully earthy flavor. And it did not last long here. 

Fig Guacamole

One Large Avocado (Mashed)

3-4 figs, washed a diced very small

1/4 cup of shredded queso fresco.

Salt to taste.

*Mash Avocado, then fold in other ingredients and eat promptly with chips and/or crackers.

                                 Buen Provecho!

~ Misguided Maiden

Seven Years

So I know that I have not been posting on this blog in a LONG time. I have been enjoying time with family; and with one computer in the home it can be difficult to squeeze in time to watermark photos and post. I will be back on here soon with some new fun tutorials and some new salsa recipes! I am very excited about this.

In the meantime today is my seven year anniversary. My hubby and I have been together for 12 years and married for 7 and October is a very special month for us. It seems like only yesterday that I met this man. We have had many adventures and I am looking forward to many more. So all my love to the other half of me.

My knight.

~Misguided Maiden

A Little ME Time: Skirt and Scrub

This last Saturday, while my husband was researching who to vote for state senate in the primaries. I was listening in to his research and having a little "me" creativity time. First up: Finger Knitting. I have been knitting up these vegetable scrubbers:

This is my little mini scrubber and it has already been put to great use scrubbing carrots this morning! I have larger sizes for the dishes and such but this one was just finished so I thought a celebratory picture was in order. If you have not learned the art of finger knitting here is a good video tutorial. This shows just the single strand knitting which is what I used for this idea. This video also inspired the scrubber concept. I will post a tutorial soon once I get the steps more simplified.

I also had the chance to re-fashion a skirt to fit me! Lets just say I am not a size four, but I could not pass up the deal of this skirt and a vintage store. One dollar?!!? yeah we can do something with this...

So here is the skirt before. Super cute but WAY too small (sorry the pics are not so great...night sewing...what are you gonna do).

Here is the skirt after. Not as cute as before but still cute. It is very light and airy and very fun to wear. So for me it is a success. 

I hope there is some more night time sewing in my future. It is just too much fun.

~ Misguided Maiden

Salsa Sunday: Orange Mango Salsa

Its a mothers day salsa special today! This is for all the women in the world who are mothers, sisters, aunts, best friends, a kind stranger, mentor and so much more. Thank you to all the women in the world who have been one of these things. These ripples of love affect many throughout the world.

(OK...its for you men too)

This salsa was inspired by two things: Sunday brunch and farmers markets.

Sunday brunch reminds some of fresh squeezed orange juice or mimosas; and an impressive spread of heavy two light foods to pile your plate with. It is usually for a large gathering of people to enjoy the many eats and to catch up with one another.

So I was reading the paper...looking over the different restaurants and their mothers day brunch menus; which lead to a visit to the farmers market later in the week where I picked up these pretty lady's...

I also had these mangoes sitting on the counter... and...well...it all basically rolled on from there!

After making this there were some optional ingredients I would recommend to enhance the salsa even more.

They are: Lime juice and diced jalapeno. Its adds a little tart to the very sweet salsa and a little spice. Sweet and spicy are a good combo.

Other than that...its simplicity is what makes this a great salsa for a Sunday brunch.

So give it a try. Its great on a chip! I bet it would be good on some fish as well. YUM!

Orange Mango Salsa

 Four Oranges washed a diced

One teaspoon of orange rind

Two Mangoes washed and diced

1/4 a bunch of cilantro washed, diced (stems and leaves)

salt to taste

***Optional items: Lime juice and/or Diced Jalapeno

                                Buen Provecho!

~ Misguided Maiden

Salsa Sunday: Grilled Pineapple Salsa

So your looking at the date and thinking..."its not Sunday?!!?" Perhaps on Sunday you were constantly checking out this blog to see the next Salsa Sunday post and thinking..."Where the heck is it!"

Sunday we had friends over for a BBQ and honestly I would rather watch this...

any day over getting a post in on time. Those boys had a blast. Of course there was lots of salsa to snack on while we all waited for the entree to finish cooking. It was a fun night. Afterwards it was off to bed for baby and then mom and dad chatting the night away with a little slow dancing under the full moon to cap off the evening. Yeah...would do that all over a blog post any day.

But I did make a Salsa on Sunday. One that I will share with you...right now. It all started earlier in the week when I picked this beauty up from the grocery store. Every time I see a pineapple I am reminded of Maui and the pineapple tour we took there.

Obviously this was not a Maui pineapple but we can still make it just as tasty. In fact we can turn it into a very wonderful salsa. All we need is one pineapple and the magic of the Grill.

Grilled pineapple is a magical thing...like unicorns or ligers (lion + tiger, bred for their skill in magic).
A sweet/tart fruit turns into a juicy sweet grilled awesomeness.

Pair that with some salsa staples and you get a little piece of heaven on a chip or your grilled meats, fishes...hey...I might even eat my hand if it was covered in this.

With a dash of salt to top it off you have a little bit of magic right in your own home. So here it is:

Grilled Pineapple Salsa

One Pineapple, sliced and grilled (or put under the broiler) to your liking then diced

1/2 a bunch of cilantro, washed a diced, stems and leaves

1/2 of a small red onion, diced

lime and salt to taste (here you want to find your perfect balance of sweet a salty)

Eat on anything or nothing. Just enjoy it!

I also made some classic guacamole and some pico de gallo con queso for appetizers and it got me thinking that I should really do some salsa prep posts here. Seriously with a little prep you can make salsa in minutes!

Something to consider in the future I guess. In the meantime...

                                    Buen Provecho!

~ Misguided Maiden