Believe me I've tried

If I could put my life into one of these I would.

homemade mustard pretzels

Since I used some dry mustard powder for a soup recipe today, I thought it would be a good idea to make some mustard pretzels. I couldn't find a recipe quite to my liking (most include honey or use prepared mustard) so I devised my own. The results were successful, although a bit spicy.


This makes a small batch, probably 3/4 of the bag of pretzels. I used Rold Gold Tiny Twists, but you can use any pretzel of your liking.

For the coating:

1.5 tablespoons mustard powder
1+ tsp garlic powder (I think I used more than this, but I am a garlic fan)
a dash of salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Sprinkle the mustard powder into a small bowl. Then add the oil, garlic powder, and salt. Mix together.

Put pretzels into a pan. I used a small roasting pan. Drizzle the mixture onto the pretzels and stir up using a spatula, making sure to coat all of the pretzels. At this point, I found I had enough mixture to add more pretzels. So I did. The spatula is good for scraping any of the mixture that falls to the bottom, ensuring maximum coating.

You may choose to sprinkle some additional mustard powder once they are coated in the liquid. I found it resulted in a more authentic mustard pretzel. I also added a little more garlic and then mixed it all up again.

Bake at 200º for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

winter whites...hint of spring (i wish)

on a positive note, my house now has heat!

paper bits, winter whites

I hung up a paper clothesline in my room. It's still being added to.

Winter White

I am participating in a Winter White photo event via the Glass Doorknob. I haven't had time to get out and shoot yet, but here's a little taste of a past winter.




These are both photos I took from my house in Michigan a couple years ago. One of the prettiest winters we've had.

Dream

She wore her hair straight and to her shoulders. She walked without looking back at me. I followed the memory.

Love of my life

New notebook today which means new projects!

I left all my notebooks/journals/collated paper back in Michigan (quite unintentionally) so today I bought this lovely new notebook at the Minnesota Center for book arts. Their shop is great; it's full of lovely stationary and prints and journals. Mine is very beautifully letterpress printed and I am so excited to put it to use. Who knows what will end up inside but I can't wait to start filling it.

On the ferris wheel at the Vermont state fair, Rutland (LOC)

On the ferris wheel at the Vermont state fair, Rutland (LOC), originally uploaded by The Library of Congress.

Another reason to love the Library of Congress.

Another time travel mechanism.

discovery

i never realized how much my finger varies in size from moment to moment throughout the day. not the most thrilling observation, but i was surprised.

capture limbo

let things settle. burrow deep. click and rearrange. simple motions.

i'm living in minneapolis now. in a basement. my own space, little to occupy it. i intern three days a week at milkweed editions. i don't get paid to do a number of things such as: affix labels to postcards, choose from piles of unsolicited manuscripts (my choice of fiction, non, children's, and poetry), grasp mugs of tea to keep warm, and count down the time left before lunch or leaving. i think i will like it. time. the four remaining days stretch out, waiting to be filled by something a bit more lucrative--monetarily or otherwise.

tonight i watched helvetica. lately i look at things in terms of how they can benefit my future apartment.



i look forward to piling interesting mugs and lots of old pyrex. i have a collection going, stored away for now.



i have lots of paper bits accumulated. i would love to see them all together like this.

there is a lot to look out for.

new year, old projects.

Some scans from a book I made in Italy. The book is bound from the scraps of a faux leather skirt. The woman appearing throughout is an etching while the rest of the imagery is composed of guache and collage bits.