Pocket Pause

March 30, 2012

Fiber Fridays: Felted Fiber Friends/ A GIVEAWAY!

** Note: this giveaway is closed! Please head over to Etsy to buy or order your own little Fiber Friend, and join me every “Fiber Friday” for my weekly featured friend, plus occasional coupons and other incentives. Yay!**

That’s right, i’m hosting another giveaway. Already! Yeehaw! This week, i’m so excited to offer a special little felted “quasi-Pocket” to a special reader looking to add some whimsy to his or her desk, workspace, mantel or anywhere a little miniature corgi might like to perch. She’s only a “quasi” Pocket, because i didn’t make her spots an exact match to our Pocket, but she’s definitely a “pocket” corgi! Pocket herself pictured below, non-plussed by her felted counterpart.

This little cutey is sitting in what my friend Danielle calls: Pooh pose: that uniquely corgi spraddle legged sit. Like our Pocket, she has a bit of a tail and lots of white, but her toes are black as night. She’s in her Winter coat, with her regal collar and ruff, and she’s definitely “all ears.”

You know you want it, so here are the rules:

“the Rules”

Please “follow” Pocket Pause if you don’t already. There’s a handy dandy tab on the right side of the page that lets you choose your favorite reader! Comment and let me know, either way (newbie, or oldbie follower)
Be our friend! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Points for each!
Share with your friends. Post a link back to this giveaway on your Facebook page or Twitter feed and get more points!
Visit The Daily Corgi to get an even bigger dose of corgi! Like their Facebook page while you’re at it and tell them @PocketPause sent ya!
Post an additional comment with your request for my next felted miniature. Corgis are great, but so are alpacas, sheep, bunnies, mice, voles…. you get the idea. Request your favorite animal!

Comment on this post with any and all actions, and squeel in anticipation! *** Please submit a comment for EACH entry! I’ll be using a random number generator to choose the winner (on April 13th) and need each entry in a separate comment for easy counting.*** This giveaway will be running for TWO weeks, so there is time to get it all done and shared far and wide! In the meantime, here’s a little more about what’s in store for Fiber Fridays:

As i mentioned last week, you’ll be seeing more “fiber friends” on fiber Fridays to come. These little cuties will be available for sale on Etsy for $5-$25. Proceeds will help me pay for the time and resources spent writing this blog, as well as a really great cause: Corgi Pals.

I love my corgi, Pocket and hope to always be able to provide the best care for her. Not all pet owners can always afford the best care for their corgis (or other dogs/cats/horses/lizards) when faced with an unexpected surgery or other costly life event. Corgi Pals is a non-profit organization that helps to raise the extra money those skin-parents need to afford their fur-baby’s veterinary care. I will be donating a dollar from every feltie purchase to Corgi Pals, in hopes that the good karma will keep Pocket in good health and out of harm’s (and costly vet bills) way, and because i love corgis and want them to all be happy and healthy. I hope you do too, and that you’ll love my little felted fiber friends enough to bring one or two home.

More about Corgi Pals:

CorgiPals started as a simple blog on February 20, 2011 with a very specific mission statement in mind:

“Giving a voice to Corgis in need.”

That includes Corgis of all types: Pembroke Welsh Corgis, Cardigan Welsh Corgis, and Corgi mixes! CorgiPals is a 501(c)3 tax exempt nonprofit organization. CorgiPals focuses on two different fundraising campaigns: Helping Paws is a general fund for Corgis in need, and The Baxter Valentine Fund is for Corgis battling cancer.For more information about us, please visit their Fundraisers and Features sections.

Pretty awesome, right? Right. I’m also pretty stoked about the ‘other’ corgi non-profit, which focuses specifically on rescue corgis: Corgi Aid. While my main benefactor will be CorgiPals (because my little Pocket isn’t a rescue, and i’m working on building up karma for HER), I may also gift Corgi Aid from time to time, and certainly want all of corgi nation to know more about this great cause:

CorgiAid is a nonprofit organization founded to provide financial assistance to corgis and corgi mixes. We help out those who rescue dogs from shelters or other non-permanent homes, then foster them until a new home is found. Medical and other expenses for these dogs can become high; CorgiAid gathers donations from those who want to help, and, within our funding guidelines, and gets funds to those rescuers who apply for help.

CorgiAid exists to provide a framework for support of rescue efforts for Cardigan and Pembroke Welsh corgis and corgi mixes, for the enhancement of animal welfare and the betterment of mankind.”

So, with these great causes standing to benefit, make today a corgi day and have some fun browsing around and entering to win your very own, no-vet-or-food-bills-required miniature corgi. I can’t wait to get your feltie requests! I’m hankerin to felt a menagerie over here, so send your ideas now! Good luck!

** UPDATE*** Wow – i’ve been getting some great feedback and am already getting requests for custom orders! You can now visit my Etsy shop to place custom orders, or you can order from me directly. Contact me using the toolbar below with your custom request. (Requests in the comments section will add to your entries for this giveaway, but actual orders must be received by mail.) Custom felties start at $25 depending on their complexity and discounts are available for multiple purchases. If you want your pet miniaturized, i will need good photographs from several angles. I can easily accept Paypal and also accept personal checks by mail. Once i receive your message, i will reply as soon as possible with questions or ideas along with your invoice and a request for the mailing address where your feltie should be shipped. Turnaround will be 3-5 days per piece, and will be felted in the order received, so actual turnaround time may be somewhat delayed depending on the number of orders received. Current waiting list is 1-3 weeks.

108 Comments

Filed under Dogs/ Corgis, Felting, Giveaway

Tagged as blog giveaway, corgi, corgi aid, corgi blog, corgi non profit, corgi pals, corgi rescue, felt sculpture, felted animal, felted corgi, felted sculpture, felties, fiber friends, miniature sculpture, pocket the corgi, the daily corgi

March 29, 2012

Pork Loin Roast in About an Hour

What happens when you spend the entire day butchering chickens, worming sheep, teaching a bummer lamb to find her mama’s nipple and you don’t get home until 6 pm AND none of the hens were meaty/tender enough to warrant human snacking? You rush around the kitchen like a lunatic, defrost some pork loin in the microwave and whip together a shoddy but uber-delicious meal in about an hour.

I am proud to have two excellent cast iron pans, one is smaller with a fitted lid, and the other is nice and large. With the lid in place, the smaller of the two because a perfect little dutch oven for “roasts for two.” I was uncertain to the time and temp need to cook the pork loin chunks, and didn’t want to UNDER cook them since they were still a bit frozen. I cooked them a little long and a little hot, so we ended up with loin that was a little dried out: but any dryness was well compensated for with some delicious gravy!

Since this wasn’t perfect, i won’t post this as a ‘recipe’ per say, but here is the method to my madness:

Preheat oven to 350. Chop one leek and 4 garlic cloves, scatter in small dutch oven. Place mostly defrosted, salted, peppered pork loin chunks on top of leeks, plus 3 ice cubes of condensed chicken/goat stock and about a half pint of water, a cayenne pepper and some dried sage. Top it all off with two handfuls of oyster mushrooms (yum!), cover with the lid and stick in the oven. While that’s cruising along, chop up some fingerling potatoes and half a cauliflower and toss with olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper. Spread evenly in the larger cast iron and set aside until about 30 minutes before dinner time/the roast is finished. Roast the veggies at least 30 minutes and be sure to stir a few times. I cooked the roast about an hour, but could have shorted it it or reduced the temp. Cook the loin to be at LEAST 145 degrees internal temp. Once your meat is cooked, turn off the oven and remove the dutch ovenlet, set the meat aside (i used a covered pan set upon the burner that doubles as the oven exhaust to keep the meat warm) and add a bit of corn starch (pre-mixed with cold water, about a tablespoon) to the juices over a burner at medium heat. Stir until simmering and continue to stir until thickened to your preference. Remove the roasted veggies from the oven and serve the meat and potatoes side by side, drizzled with the hearty mushroom gravy. So good!

I couldn’t have asked for a better meal after a hard day of work. Though, hopefully next time we’ll get to eat some of the meat from my day of butchering too, not just Pocket.

What’s your favorite thing to cook after a hard day’s work?

Spring has Sprung! Sayeth our “Groundhog”

I tend to keep strange “pets.” If you’re a seasoned Austin Homestead reader, you remember that Pocket isn’t our only house pet. For the newbies, let this post serve as her introduction. Meet Holly, the Christmas Turtle.

Holly may well be the “Christmas turtle” (i got her as a present 12 years ago, and she loves tree lights and scrambling around presents more than about anything), but she is also our very own Punxsatawny Phil. Holly always know when Spring has truly sprung. She gets an appetite.

Being a cold blooded little animal, Holly spends most of the Winter holed up in a corner of the living room. Yes, Holly has full run of the house. No, she really doesn’t make much of a mess (other than the occasional wet sock in the kitchen from a little turtle puddle. Gross.) I have a heating pad set up for her under the couch and can usually find her perched there or up against the space heater or Pocket’s crate. They’re good buds, for totally different species. It’s always a sure sign that Winter is nearing its end when Holly presents herself in the middle of the room with that certain expression on her face that reads “give me food NOW.”

I’m an obedient pet owner and provided Holly with some chard, that she ignored, and a chunk of beef heart that she had a devil of a time masticating. Masticate she did, and now the best is released! You know how Pocket loves her broccoli? She loves it, but she makes a major mess of broccoli chunks scattered about, which Holly is happy to pick up as she strolls across the room. We’re headed back to our friend’s house to cull more chickens to feed Pocket, guess i’d better bring a shovel and bucket to dig up some worms for Holly, too!

Is it Spring in your neck of the woods? How can you tell: blooms, birds, or something a little different?

Pita Pizza: My “World Famous” Recipe

Okay, okay: this recipe isn’t WORLD famous, but it is my husband’s all time favorite dinner, which counts for something, right? Pita pizza is a super delicious, healthy alternative to doughy pizza and is totally versatile to what you have on hand, or what toppings you prefer. Last night, i went Hawaian.

Looks good, doesn’t it?

Great pita pizza starts with great pita, something that is surprisingly difficult to find. My favorite pitas have tended to be locally baked, big and airy pitas. In Austin, i loved Pheonicia pita, and in Australia i found the very BEST pitas that were HUGE and very low in calories. Stay away from “flatbread” as you’ll get burnt to a crisp crackers, not pizza and stay away from ‘pocket bread’ as that dry stuff just won’t cut it. You want to find a “pocketless” pita and you can store the leftovers in the freezer for future use.

You can top your pizzas with whatever you like, but be aware that things like mushrooms or peppers, or just too many ingredients on one pizza may make things go soggy. Some of my favorite ingredients are: black olives, jalapenos, pineapple, garlic cloves, mushrooms, tomato slices, fresh basil. Whatever you choose to top with, you need to start with delicious sauce, and i always make mine from ‘scratch’ using some tomato paste and other yummy things:

Pizza Sauce

1 small can tomato paste, i like Hunt’s – herb or plain
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
Pinch dried herbs: basil, oregano
Salt & Pepper
Dried cayenne or fresh hot pepper, finely minced
Optional: truffle oil, sundried tomatoes, rosemary, splash red wine

Build your pizzas:

Slather a generous portion of sauce on each pita. We make 3 at a time: i put two in the oven first, and put the third in when we sit down to eat. This amount of sauce makes the perfect amount for 3 pitas with a good amount of sauce, or 4 pitas with a little less sauce.
Sprinkle a bit of shredded cheese. I like to mix mozz and cheddar. Keep this layer scant.
Lay down your first ingredients, always starting with the onions. For this pizza i used 1. onion (thinly sliced) 2. canadian bacon 3. pineapple.
Sprinkle more cheese to cover toppings.

Now it’s time to bake! I bake mine on a cookie sheet in a preheated oven at 425 degrees. Timing will be different depending on the type of pitas you get and what ingredients you use, but 12 minutes is a good ‘first time to check’ cooking time. Cook 12 – 20 minutes until the crust is crispy and lightly brown, but nothing should be burned. Serve with a salad if you’re feeling healthy, or a beer/chardonnay and a movie if it’s a Saturday night. Consider adding some parmesan, cayenne flakes or sriracha sauce and extra salt if you chose a veggie pizza.