Welcome to the Wonderful World of Worbla

I’m always excited when I discover new things that fill a void in my life I never knew existed.  Like Amazon Prime – I never knew how much I needed free, next day shipping until my neighbor let me sponge off his account for a year. Now I can’t imagine my world without the nearly-instant gratification of getting my bulk order of mod podge or year supply of ramen noodle delivered long before I’ve decided I totally didn’t need that junk.

So today I pay it forward and do for you what my neighbor did for me when he lent me his Prime benefits. Today, I introduce you to the greatest crafty medium you never knew you needed – Worbla. . .

The Canary Mask (AKA – The Day I Discovered Worbla)

It’s September, which means it’s time to get a costume plan in place for Halloween (don’t judge me for being proactive!) Some years I’m too lazy to deal with a full-on plan, but this year I’m feelin’ it and am ready to rock this suburbia trick-or-treating. As such, I’ve decided to be a masked crusader – Canary from Arrow – to be exact. But since I live in cookie-cutter-house-ville and 9 out of 10 people probably have no idea what Arrow is, I’ll just tell everyone I’m a kick-ass chic and be done with the explanation.

As this kick-ass chick, I need a mask.  My lovely partner in crime is always up for helping make a costume, so he began checking out blogs and YouTube videos on mask making for me.  We tried a few liquid latex versions, but they weren’t as awesome as we had hoped.  Then …… we discovered the coolest, most awesome cosplay (that’s costume play for all you too cool people out there) product.  It’s called Worbla, and it’s quite possibly, the most versatile crafting medium ever made.

Worbla comes in a roll and looks and feels like extremely heavy cardstock with a plastic coating – and that’s essentially what it is – plastic paper.  It’s moldable, sitckable, bendable, pliable, and any other “able” you can think of – just heat it and watch the possibilities unfold! Don’t believe me – check out the website or do a Google search to see the endless options.

Our first Worbla project is pretty basic – a simple, straight forward mask. We started by making a template out of scrap paper and testing it on my face for size.  Remember, your finished mask will form to your face, so you have to account for that in your template. As you can see, the flat mask seems to have its eyes father apart, but that’s because I will need the mask to mold around my nose.

Once you’re happy with your template, transfer the pattern to your Worbla. Use a heat gun or hair dryer to heat the Worbla so that it’s easier to cut. DON’T THROW AWAY YOUR SCRAPS! Worbla isn’t cheap so save those scraps to use in another project.

After you have your mask cut out, heat it again so you can begin molding it to your face. Once the Worbla is warm and wiggly (don’t burn yourself folks), apply it to your face – smooth side in – and start molding it to your unique facial shape.  My partner in crime helped mold mine while I relaxed on our family room floor, but you could easily do this in a mirror. Reheat and remold again and again until you are happy with the shape. Once you’re satisfied, hold it in place till it’s somewhat cool and hardened.

My mask is simple, I’m painting it black and not adding any other dimensions.  But Worbla molds to itself, so you could create pretty much any feature you imagine. For me, I’m sealing my Worbla with a few coats of Mod Podge to give it that leather look and prepare it for paint. A few quick coats of spray paint and my mask is ready.  If you want it super smooth, break out some sandpaper and go to town – you’ll also want to prime it and sand it again between coats for a super perfect, glossy finish. A little spirit gum or liquid latex holds it in place.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are, hands down, the best cookies I've ever tried to make. I've baked them a few times now, and they were awesome every time. They looked intimidating at first, because the recipe is from scratch, and I have zero baking skills, but they were actually very easy. They took a little more time than a box mix, but they were completely worth the extra hassle. If you want to have the pride of making fresh, delicious cookies that don’t have any weird additives, give this recipe a try. 

WARNING: These suckers are fat-ten-ing. I’m talking, like 3/4-tablespoon-of-butter-per-cookie-fattening. In the future, I plan to experiment with different flours, less sugar, and less butter. I'll see if I can make these less guilt-inducing while keeping a high yummy factor. If not, they will still be my go-to cookies. 

I found the original recipe over at AverieCooks.com. My version of the cookie recipe is already doubled, so please visit her website to see the amounts halved. Averie also has lots of other yummy, easy recipes to try, so go check it out for more deliciousness. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: Approximately two dozen large cookies.

Prep Time: 20 minutes (and 3+ hours to chill the dough. Freezing is also okay).

Cook Time: 10-15 minutes.

Ingredients:

2 large eggs (or 3 small)

1 cup butter (2 sticks, softened)

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

½ cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

3 cups old-fashioned whole rolled oats (*not* instant or quick cook)

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1-2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

a large pinch of salt (optional)

1 bag (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Combine the eggs, butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla together in a mixing bowl. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat on medium-high speed, until well-combined (2-3 minutes).
   
   
   
2. Add all of the dry ingredients to the bowl (minus the chocolate chips): oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, and stir a few strokes, just to get it started. Beat on low speed for about 1 minute to combine.
   
   
   
3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again with a spatula, add the chocolate chips, and beat on low speed for another 30 seconds or so; just enough to spread the chips throughout the dough.
   
   
   
4. The dough will be very stiff, so you can easily divide it into four or six sections to help gauge your sizing for individual cookies.
   
   
   
5. Roll the dough into approximately two dozen balls, and flatten slightly. I used a 1/8 cup measuring scoop, and over-filled it a little, but you could use a serving spoon, or something along those lines, as well. Aim for 1/8 – ¼ of a cup for each cookie. Also, for extra prettification, move some of the chocolate chips from the bottom of the cookie dough ball to the top. {I forgot to do this, so my cookies aren't as cute as they could have been. They were still delicious, though!}
6. Place dough balls on a plate, covered with plastic wrap, or in some sort of covered container. Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours. I'd recommend freezing them if you think you'll wait longer than a few days to bake them. {I separated my layers with parchment paper, but they probably would have been fine stacked, without any separation.}
   
   
   
7. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease your cookie sheets, or line with a non-stick cooking sheet. Space the dough at least two inches apart on a baking sheet, and bake for 10-15 minutes. {You'll notice that I only have six cookies per baking sheet, but that's because I live in England, and the Shire only has Hobbit-sized ovens. You'll probably be able to fit about eight cookies per sheet in 'Murica.}

• Important note: *MY* oven bakes these cookies in 12-14 minutes. Oven temperatures can vary slightly, so just keep a close watch on your first batch to time it for your oven. I like these cookies extra chewy, so I take them out of the oven when the edges are just barely browned, and the tops are lightly set. They may even look a little undercooked in the center, but they'll continue to firm up as they cool.
  

8. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10-15 minutes before serving. After they cool on the baking sheet, I let them rest on a layer of paper towels before moving them to a storage container. This gives them extra rest time, and gets rid of some of the greasiness from the butter and baking spray.
   

9. Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container for around a week {if they last that long}. You can also freeze them for several months.  Happy Chomping! :)
   
   
   

Onion Bhajis: Fried Onion Awesomeness for the Whole Family

In our house, “what’s for dinner?” is one of those questions that makes my soul cry. It’s not because I hate cooking, in fact, I really like it.  No, that question chips away at the essence of my being because it’s not as innocent as it appears.  In my house, “what’s for dinner,” is really code for “should I eat a big snack now so I don’t have to eat that junk mom calls food, or should I save room cause she’s making one of my favorites of which I will gluttonously shovel into my pie hole at a rate that should not be humanly possible.”

While it’s true that the nice mom in me should answer kindly and list the various wholesome components that will make up this evening’s fun, family meal, the actual mom in me always answers the same – LIVER and ONIONS. Sure I get an evil stare or two, but the downturn in the daily inquiry of our dinner plans has made up for any tween angst attitude that rolls my way.

Despite my kids’ opposition to organ meats and root vegetables, they are surprisingly pretty adventurous eaters.  As such, tonight’s dinner offering includes the flavor stylings of India – a food genre that, not too long ago, freaked me out. The smell of Indian cuisine always reminded me of body odor, and I could just never get past it. That was until, oddly enough, a friend of mine forced me to accompany her to a $7, all-you-can-eat Indian buffet in a Ramada hotel. I know most people would expect to get an intestinal parasite from a hotel buffet that costs less than a box of tampons, but it was actually really tasty and I left thinking it was a meal I would want again.

And so my adventure into perfecting a few Indian dishes began.  At first the list of ingredients seemed …. intimidating. I mean, what the hell is garam masala and where do I even find that – is that some sort of petrified fish or do I check the produce department (FYI – it’s actually a blend of spices and you can find it in the spice aisle). Since Google knows all, it took only a few minutes to find some reasonable recipes that included actual names of spices I had heard of and might have lying around.

Today, we’ll start with the most kid-friendly Indian dish in the world: Onion Bhaji … aka onion fritters, onion pancakes or onion latkes for you layman out there. Made from red and yellow onions, these bhajis are a crispy, salty nugget of goodness that makes both kids and adults smile.

Don't judge my photos. I'm not a photographer people:)

It’s fried onions people – need I say more.  Pair it with a yogurt dipping sauce, butter lentils or some really great basmati rice (don’t worry, I’ll post these recipes someday), and I promise you’ll start thinking about delving into the seemingly confusing world of Indian cuisine. OK, maybe you have higher standards than me and won’t be seeking out your local hotel buffet, but believe me, this recipe will at least get you to consider it.

This recipe uses garbanzo bean flour (also called besan, gram flour, chickpea flour or cici bean flour), which can be found in most grocery stores. It’s fairly inexpensive – I spent less than $3 on the 1 pound bag I purchased. Check the gluten free section if you’re having trouble locating it in your store, or you can always buy it online or substitute all purpose flour if you have trouble finding it.

Onion Bhaji (AKA: Indian Onion Fritters)

1 yellow onion

1 red onion

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

2 tsp of ginger finely chopped

1 cup garbanzo bean flour

½ tsp turmeric

½ teaspoon garam masala

1 tsp chili flakes (adjust to taste)

2 tsp salt (adjust to taste)

1 cup water

1 tbls vegetable oil

Oil for frying

1. Cut onions in half and slice thinly. Separate the onions and place in a large mixing bowl.


2. In a different bowl, mix the flour, garlic, ginger and spices together.  Slowly add the water a little at a time until a loose batter forms.  You are looking for a consistency of a thin pancake batter.


3. Pour the batter over the onions and mix to combine.


4. Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. When your oil is hot enough for frying, drop spoonful of the onion/batter mixture into your pan.  Use the back of the spoon to spread the mixture out into a patty if needed.  Once browned, usually 2-3 minutes, flip the bhaji over and let cook for another 1-2 minutes. Salt to taste.

(If your oil is too hot, your bhaji will brown too quickly, so take care to keep your pan at medium or medium-low. Fry only a few at a time and never overcrowd the pan.)