Bike Spoke Jewelry, Tomatoes and Tilapia

You know the boy on the bike sporting a tutu in the previous post? He is usually very fashionable in a manly sort of way. It is his birthday on Sunday and I wanted to make sure we had something special for his birthday, so I made him an 18" necklace that features colored spoke nipples. They fun to put together.

This one is for Maris. It was fun to make. Once I got started, I had to make more.

Next up was the necklace for Kathy, Ellie's coach.

And then I offered one to The Girl. She requested Rasta colors.

This one ended up being my favorite. It is for Kate, the person who heads up the Colorado High School Cycling League and puts together the HS mountain bike races that Ellie enjoys.

I have not cleaned up my art room as I may make some more.

We enjoyed some super sweet, tiny tomatoes from our garden. The first of what I hope will be a bounty.

My oven has developed a problem with the oven burner. It is not functioning properly. Somehow it has changed shape just enough to allow gas to escape, which in turn ignites a fireball that makes a scary noise and pops the oven door open just a bit. The repair man says that the repair part will not arrive until Aug. 26th. Until then I need to restrict my use of the oven. Bummer! That is a long time to go without the oven, mostly. That made dinner last night a bit of a challenge. I made a special Tilapia recipe.

Parmesan and Paprika Crusted Tilapia

3 TBL Butter
6 Tilapia Fillets, thawed
Paprika
Parmesan, shredded


Sprinkle the paprika over each Tilapia fillet. Use your fingers or the back of the spoon to rub it into the fish on both sides.

Melt the butter in the pan.

Sprinkle some Parmesan in the pan in the place for the fillets. Place the fillets on top of the cheese. Sprinkle more cheese on the top of the fish. Cook on medium high for about 4 minutes. Flip carefully so that the cheese transfers with the fish. Cook for a few more minutes so that the fish is cooked through.

Serve plain or with avacado and tomato slices.

Ellie Goes Camping - Parentless, + Almond Crusted Tilapia

Ellie's theme for the summer seems to be having adventures. Much to my surprise, she talked her dad into letting her go on a parentless camping trip. By the time he was 15 he and his friends were going on multi-day, deep woods camping trips, so he thought it would be okay.

He had a few conditions. One was that they had to camp at the campgrounds in the White Ranch Open Space park where my husband knows the ranger. Larr arranged for Dave (the ranger) to drive by the camping spot a time or two just to make sure that the kids were okay.

Since Kohlton went with the girls there were many promises made about sleeping arrangements and the amount of physical affection. They kids had not problem with those guidelines.

Kohlton slept wound up in a tarp like a human taco while the girls slept in our tent.

So off they went, with an arrangement to meet up the next morning at noon.

It rained a bit as we drove away. We had hoped it would cool down, but it did not. The kids had fun despite the scorching temperatures. Next time they want to go for a longer time period.

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Here's a recipe that we all really enjoyed:

Almond Crusted Tilapia
via: APinchofYum.com

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 15 mins Serves: 2-4

1/2 cup salted almonds (I used raw. unroasted and unsalted almonds)
1/4 cup breadcrumbs, plain or seasoned (I used massa)
2-4 tilapia filets
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1-2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon butter
parmesan cheese and fresh lemon

Place the almonds and breadcrumbs in a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground into a crumb-like mixture. Place the crumb mixture on a plate or in a shallow bowl.

Heat oil and butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat.

Spread each tilapia filet with 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard on both sides. Press the tilapia into the crumbs to get it coated on both sides. I usually do this several times to make sure the whole thing gets covered.

Place the fish into the frying pan and cook for several minutes on each side, until the outside is browned and the fish is fully cooked. I usually just check the middle of the fish for doneness – pieces will flake off easily when it’s done.
Serve with parmesan, sea salt, or lemon.