How did we manage in the days before Pinterest? Even good old Google has nothing on Pinterest for ease of organization and comparison for crafts and cooking. I've stepped up my creativity by several orders of magnitude since joining that site.
I've managed to create my own gluten-free version of cream of whatever soup (I'd refer to it generically as cream of mushroom, but I don't eat fungus voluntarily), based on recipes I've known by heart since I was a kid. Most of the time, it's pretty good. As Thanksgiving approaches, my mind turns longingly to green bean casserole, and I've been considering making it to bring to the big family dinner in Boulder. The one thing holding me back was the traditional onion topping for it. I've tried a couple different methods to put onions on top without buying the wheat-covered ones. I failed multiple times. They usually came out greasy, limp, and burned. Today I had a practice run based on Pinterest research. I soaked thinly sliced onions in buttermilk (just milk and vinegar, actually), dredged them in GF flour, corn meal, and seasoned salt, and fried them in coconut oil. Instant success! The test casserole was nothing special, just a can of GF cream of chicken soup over canned beans. The onions were the variable. After years of struggling to properly replicate one of the best parts of Thanksgiving dinner, I finally have the easy method of doing it right. I just had to watch one little video.
I'm still having fun crocheting my way through Pinterest too. Not all of the patterns are free, but there are plenty to choose from that are. For the first time, I'm trying to create a stuffed toy. (I'm not worried about talking publicly about this one--I am absolutely certain the person I plan to give it to does not currently read this blog.) I only learned how to make dimensional shapes with a magic circle last week when I made those slippers. For a second attempt at that method, I'm pleased so far. But this toy is supposed to have a face on it. I tried stitching one with embroidery floss. I'm not sure I like it so much. I didn't like the one in the picture on the pattern, and I didn't have "safety eyes," whatever those are. I tried to satin stitch what I thought were the right shaped eyes for the animal this will be. I think instead I just made it look scary. I'll go ahead and finish it, but if it comes out creepy, I might not give it away.
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