How Do I . . .

Business loans, distributor searches, rental space searches, oh my!  For the last two years, I've been dreaming of starting my own craft supply business.  Until last week, that's all it's been: dreaming.  But last week, I finally decided that I was tired of working for other people.  I was tired of working at jobs that were unfulfilling and completely inept at taking advantage of my strengths and talents.  I was tired of watching the people I work with get rewarded for being lazy, unethical, and stupid. 

This Saturday, I decided to start really researching how I would go about achieving my dream.  The first thing I did was search the Internet for distributors of what I wanted to stock in my store: yarns, crocheting/knitting tools, cross stitch threads/patterns/tools, beading supplies, general crafting supplies, and whatever else I decide I have space for in the future.  I was wildly successful.  I have several folders filled with bookmarked websites that seem like they'll be useful to me.  Yay, me!  Of course, all that searching has left me confused and worried that ordering stock from so many different places will cause me headaches.  Hopefully, though, once I get going and become more experienced, I'll be able make contacts that will make ordering easier.  I'm optimistic.

The second thing I did was go to the SBA website and browse through all the advice and tools they have for starting a new business.  Holy cow!  Talk about scaring the bejeebies out of me.  The SBA site is full of information: good, interesting information. There's a whole section about businesses owned by women. It's also got information about help for veterans. The problem is that it's so full of of information, that I'm left overwhelmed and confused as to what to do first.   The site tells you what to do, but not how to do it. When I was creating a resume and cover letter for post-college employment, I had examples to follow that made it easier to create my own.  I'm not saying that I want some kind of formulaic template that you plug information into and, presto, you have a business plan.   I'm just looking for some kind of map to help me find my way. I can find anything with a good map.

The one thing I know for sure, is that there is a definite need for my business.  You see, I live in a relatively small, rural town in southern Colorado, and the only option for purchasing craft supplies we have is Walmart.  (Anyone who has browsed the craft section in Walmart knows that it's horrible.  Not only is the selection incredibly limited, the product is mostly cheap, and not in the good way.)  My community is loaded with retirees and artists/crafters.  I'm not going to have any problems finding customers.  Furthermore, the nearest real craft supply store is Hobby Lobby, 40 miles away in Pueblo.  With gas prices today, it's just not economical to drive to Pueblo every time you run out of yarn or Mod Podge.  Speaking from a crafter's point of view, a small craft supply store in town would be lovely.  My obstacle is, how do I translate that need into funding to meet it?

According to the SBA, I need a business plan to get funding.  Well, I have two English degrees.  It shouldn't be hard to write, right?  Uh, yeah.  I can write short stories, poetry,and an analysis of Hemingway's treatment of PTSD in The Sun Also Rises.  I can also write detailed instructions on how to bathe your cat.  Hey, I can even write a blog! But how the heck do I write a business plan?  The site says I need to include demographic information, details on how my business will benefit the community, and a hundred other things that I know trying to organize into coherent written communication will offend my delicate writing sensibilities.  (This is where that map would come in pretty handy.  I'll keep searching the net for it, and I'll let you know where I find it.) 

And, oh yeah, the site doesn't really address how to get financing if you have a questionable personal credit history.  As Pooh would say, "Oh, bother."

In all honesty, though, as overwhelmed, frustrated, and terrified as I am trying to figure out how to get this business going, I'm happy.  I've taken my first step towards making my dream a reality.  Granted, it's just a teeny, weenie step, but it's a step.  Knowing that I'm working towards leaving my current job makes doing that job a bit bearable. 

Now, if I could just win the lottery, all my financing worries would be history. 

With love,
The Crocheting Cat Lady

Hey Cat Lady! What's For Dinner?

When I was a kid, we had a restaurant in town that served a fantastic manicotti.  I left town to join the Air Force and spent the next 8 years living in Omaha, NE dreaming about that manicotti.  Unfortunately, once I moved back home, I found that the restaurant had changed, and not for the better.  The manicotti that had made my mouth water in my dreams on a nightly basis didn't exist anymore.  In its place was a horrible parody of manicotti.  Crushed, I thought I would never enjoy my favorite Italian dish again.  That was 15 years ago. 

Since then, I've become more comfortable experimenting with recipes.  One of the first I experimented with was the Betty Crocker manicotti recipe.  The first time I made it, I copied it straight out of the book.  While it was good, it had no zip.  It wasn't something that would make me crave it for 8 years.  It took me two years of playing with it and two very special people (thank you my dear brother and niece) tasting each version to come up with a recipe that I love, but I did it.

I thought I would share the recipe with you, but I must warn you, I don't measure,  I just pour, mix, and taste.  So, if you are one of those people who have to know exactly how much of a spice has to go into it, you may be out of luck.  I'll try to give you estimated measurements, but let me tell you that the best way to know how much of a spice to use is to put a little in and taste it.  If it doesn't taste like enough, add a little more.  That said, here we go.

 

 

Ingredient List:

 

Manicotti Shells

 

Filling:

 

Sweet Italian Sausage     1 lb

Cottage cheese                1 large tub 

Parmesan cheese            1/2 cup (I use fresh because it's much less oily than pre-grated)

Mozzarella cheese           2 lbs

Fresh spinach                  1 to 2 cups (I used 2, but I love spinach)

Mushrooms                     4 or 5 large ones (I used button mushrooms, feel free to use something else)

Fresh garlic                     4 or 5 cloves

Nutmeg                           1 tsp

 

Sauce:

 

4 cans tomato sauce                

6 Roma tomatoes               

1 large onion                             

1 red bell pepper

5 or 6 large mushrooms (Again, I used buttons, but you don't have to.)

1 bulb of fresh garlic (Not a clove, 1 whole bulb.  You can use less if you don't like garlic as much as I do.)

2 tsp basil

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp chili powder

1/ 4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp brown sugar

Salt to taste

 

Let's get started!

 

First of all, to make this recipe you will need a good blender, chopper, whatever.  I'm a big fan of the Ninga.  See how pretty it looks? Best kitchen appliance I ever bought myself!

 

 

 

(You may ask why a blender is so important.  Well, everything in this recipe is pureed, accept the noodles, of course.)

 

1.  The first thing you need to do is brown the sausage in a stock pot or other similar type pot.  Once it's browned, remove the sausage from the pot and place in a large mixing bowl for later.  This is my favorite brand of sausage to use, because the pie ends up being less greasy than with other brands I have tried.  I don't know if you can get it outside of Colorado, though.

 

 

2.  Next puree the tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, and garlic and pour into the pot you cooked the sausage in.  (The little bit of sausage grease left in the pot will give it a little flavor.)  Mix in the tomato sauce, basil, oregano, chili powder, cinnamon, brown sugar, and salt.  Bring to a boil, then let simmer, stirring occasionally, until you're ready to pour over the stuffed noodles. 

 

(Don't forget to taste the sauce every once in a while so you can add more spices if it isn't to your liking.)

 

 

3.  Puree the sausage and mushrooms and pour back into the mixing bowl.  Next, puree the garlic, spinach, and half of the cottage cheese.  Pour that into the mixing bowl.  Then puree the rest of the cottage cheese, about 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and the Parmesan and put it in the mixing bowl.  (Don't forget to grate the Parmesan.)

 

 

(If you don't have one of these, get one.  I love, love, love mine!)

 

 

4.  Mix all the ingredients in your mixing bowl until the mixture is a uniform greenish color.  (Sounds gross, tastes great!)  It should look like this:  

 







 

5.  Now comes the pain in the rear part.  You've got to stuff the uncooked noodles with the green mixture.  (I don't precook the noodles because I can't stuff them without splitting them wide open.  but if you're good at stuffing cooked noodles, go right ahead.  Just cut the baking time to about 1/2 hour if you do.)

 

6.  Place stuffed noodles in a large baking pan like so:

 

(I prefer glass baking pans for anything with pasta.)

 

 

7.  Cover noodles with sauce.

 

8.  Top off with mozzarella cheese and bake at 375 for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Let sit for about 10 minutes before you dig in.



 

 



 (Ta Da!  Here's the finished product.  Enjoy.)

 

 

This recipe will yield 2 large pies with enough sauce left over for spaghetti the next night.  I also had some filling left over.  My niece and I are going to experiment with putting it on the roasted garlic flavored Triskets.  I'll let you know how that turns out.

 

Before I go, I want to talk a little bit about garlic, since there's so much in this recipe.  Until I was about 35 years old, I had no clue how to peal garlic.  I tried to peal it like an onion and got sticky and stinky.  I finally learned the proper way to peal garlic from a show on the cooking channel.  Life savor!  Now I want to pass that knowledge on to the next generation.  If you already know how to peel garlic, just ignore this tutorial.

 

 

You'll need a cutting board and a broad knife.

Place the clove on the cutting board, round side down.



Place flat of knife on the clove and apply pressure.  Don't press too hard or you'll pulverise the clove.

Now you can just peal the hard skin off of the garlic.

 

 

(I want to thank my lovely niece, Alica, for being such a wonderful hand model for my garlic tutorial.)

 

 

Well, my loves, that's this week's post.  I know it's not about crafting, but as I said in my opening post, I'm gonna write about any damn thing I want to here.  I hope you enjoy the recipe, and feel free to tweak it as much as you want.  After all, a recipe should be more of a jumping off point for great flavor, rather than the end all and be all of a dish.

 

 

With love,

 

The Crocheting Cat Lady