Julia I Ain't

So, my in-laws are coming over for dinner tonight, along with Mr. Scrimp's grandmother, who has never been to our house before, and for whom I have never cooked.

Naturally, I am also trying to wrap up a massive project at work, my house is a mess due to a series of welcome parties and beloved weekend guests, and I am in a tizzy of panic about, well, everything.

So, of course, I decided that French cooking would be a good idea on a full workday, especially if I made a recipe that I'd never made before. With grand visions of the most delicious boeuf bourguignon EVER dancing in my head, I dropped Mr. Scrimp off at work and headed for Whole Foods.

Recipe: Homemade Oat Flour and Pancakes

I'm not gluten intolerant (as far as I know) but I do have an intolerance to both wheat and corn. When I was first diagnosed, back in grade school, my parents cut them both out of my diet. Over time, we phased them back in (on the advice of my allergist) and things seemed fine.

Recently, though, I've started having allergy problems again, so I'm cutting wheat and corn back out of my diet. As I start to explore wheat-alternative recipes and foods, I'd like to share my findings with you. Many of these will be gluten-free and safe for people with celiac disease. Others won't. Remember, wheat-free and gluten-free are not the same.

What can I do with these delicious looking things?

Link: Mila's Daydreams

This morning, I'd like to share one of my very favorite blogs with you.

It's not a craft blog, or a cooking blog, or even a blog with any writing on it. Nope, it's a photo blog--not just any photo blog, though! In the style of Oren Lavie, Adele Enersen waits until her baby Mila is asleep and then creates beautiful landscapes using blankets, books, and other props and starring sleeping Mila in an interpretation of what she may or may not be dreaming of at that moment.

I just can't get over this. It's definitely going into my Things To Do Someday When I Have a BabyScrimp file.

Depression Cooking

Right around when I got married to Mr. Scrimp, I found a video channel on YouTube called "Depression Cooking With Clara." It was one of the things that ultimately inspired Scrimpalicious.

Clara is a 94-year-old great-grandmother whose grandson decided to help her make some instructional cooking videos for family use. He put them on YouTube, and it just took off--they're now into a second season and have released a cookbook and DVD.

Equal parts memoir and cooking show, Depression Cooking With Clara includes reminisces about the Great Depression, and cheap family recipes (averaging about $1/serving). Go here to watch it. I really recommend it.

Recipe: Brie Quiche

I made a modified quiche lorraine for breakfast this morning, and it was so quick and easy (and delicious!) that I decided two things -- one, I will be making this much more often from now on, and two, I have to share the recipe with all of you.

I used a the frozen vegan pie crust from Whole Foods, and it turned out rich and delicious.

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Roundup: Pumpkin Patch

We're halfway through October and the neighbors two doors down have started lighting up their jack-o-lanterns every night.

Remember me saying how I love pumpkins? Well, there seem to be a lot of other people on the Internets who feel the same way I do. I was looking for one or two DIY pumpkin projects to share with you all, and I found too many to choose from. There's one here for pretty much every taste--or you could mix and match and have an assortment of pumpkin decor that lasts until it's time to put the Christmas things up instead.

DIY Project Inspiration

So, I was looking at some of the products available for sale from the. and I thought, as I so often do, "I could make that."

And I bet you could make it too--or some really cool spinoff of it.

Take a look at the picture under the cut and suggest ideas for other objects that would work for this framed object art.

Tutorial: DIY Garland

I am an incorrigible fabric collector. I can't help it--there's just something about fabric that speaks to me. If you're like me, you have boxes or bags of fabric scraps.

I've got little bits left over from past projects, too small to ever be part of a new sewing project themselves. I've got remnants I picked up at JoAnn with no plan in mind. I've got old clothes that don't fit, or aren't in style anymore. I have an entire shelf just about full of fabric.

Here's a project that uses bits and scraps from old projects to create a decorative garland. I used fall colors for mine, but your color scheme is really only limited by your available fabric.

Rental-friendly Wallpaper

Apartment Therapy has done it again, locating a new way to cover your wall even if you can't paint or put up wallpaper. And, if you're savvy about it, it shouldn't even cost too terribly much. I'm thinking about doing this in our hallway, or possibly in my craft room.

Pumpkin Village

So, Mr. Scrimp and I don't really do much for Halloween. I grew up in a no-Halloween family, and while Mr. Scrimp has many happy trick-or-treating memories, he's not super devoted to it. We go to a party with some friends, but that's it.

I do, however, love pumpkins. I love them uncarved. I love them carved. I love them painted. I love their seeds, and I love them in soup and pie. There is pretty much nothing about pumpkins that I don't love, in fact.

Which is why I thought this idea on ohdeedoh was so cool (picture after the cut)

Recipe: Thai Chicken

Gosh, it's been a while since I posted a new recipe!

I don't know how authentically Thai this recipe actually is--my mom made it when I was a kid and called it Thai chicken, so Thai chicken I call it.

Mr. Scrimp and I are both big fans of it, I can tell you that much. It's hot and spicy and will warm you up on a chilly fall day.