Category: MISC

House Update – Chronicles of a Bungled Real Estate Deal – It’s Official & an ICE Room

Most of us are WAY too young to know about ICE Rooms, but when this old house was built, an ICE room was the only means available to keep things cold short of a root cellar. A man in a wagon used to deliver ICE into this little door every day over this concrete room, hence where the original name, ICEBOX came from for early refrigerators.

This room is made of poured concrete, lathe and plaster which made it extremely difficult to work with. I just couldn’t deal with more lathe and plaster tear out, so we created a new wall structure along the old walls in which to change this ICE room into a Mud room/broom closet/recyclables/gardener’s shed.

Along one side wall will go shelves for gardening tools, winter bulb storage, pet foods, cleaning supplies and such storage. I’m adding hooks for a jacket or two and a bin for recyclable cans and bottles. On the other side are all the hooks for brooms, mops and such. I painted it Oklahoma Wheat from BEHR to brighten it up and hubby add decorative trim. I have enough of the oak flooring from the kitchen left to do the ICE room and outer landing too.

Even though it is storage room, I want to get it looking nice as it is the first thing you see when you walk in from the side door, which ironically is the door most people tend to use.

Now that the sign is planted I guess it’s official!

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TECHNIQUES TO MAKE WEEK DAY MEALS EASIER

There are many ways to make your life easier in order to still have made from scratch recipes every day of the week and not resort to hamburger helpers or take out.

By having a menu plan ahead of time you can get organized whenever you have the time. When I do the shopping, I buy in bulk to cut the cost and since I have my menu plan ahead of time, I break down the bulk package into meal appropriate sizes before freezing when I get home. During the winter, I like to spend Sunday afternoons preparing for the week’s meals. If I know we’re heading into a particularly busy time I always make double batches and freeze half for another meal. There are times we literally eat out of the freezer for the whole week, but they are all homemade meals.

Remembering to defrost your meat is key to easy meal preparation on weekdays. The most time consuming part of cooking with fresh ingredients every night of the week is the chopping and preparation of vegetables. If you are sticking to your meal plan you can do these all at once. For example if you are going to need a 1/2 cup chopped onion for each of 3 meals, then choose a large onion and chop the entire onion, storing it in Tupperware and taking out what you need for each meal as you need it. I also gather together the seasonings for each meal and have them ready to go.

The key here is to be able to start cooking immediately and just add ingredients without having to do chopping and prepping.

To recap:

  1. Menu Plan
  2. Defrost Meat
  3. pre-chop vegetables
  4. pre-measure seasonings
  5. pre-set table when/where possible
  6. prepare double batches when appropriate

The original post ran here.

Do it Yourself ~ Etched Kitchen Storage Jars

I found the coolest idea over at Martha Stewart. The following instructions are from her site. All of my glass jars are written on with Sharpie on the rear or the bottom, but this idea of Martha’s would be soooooooooooooooo much better.
Martha Stewart Living

Keep pantry staples organized with a set of glass storage jars customized with etched lettering.

1. Clean and dry the glass. Using painter’s tape, mark off the area you want to etch. Attach vinyl stick-on letters and decorative tape; press hard to ensure they are attached firmly.

2. Cover work surfaces (be sure to work in a well-ventilated area). Put on protective gloves and an old shirt with long sleeves. Paint an even layer of etching cream onto glass. Let stand for amount of time indicated by manufacturer’s instructions.

3. Rinse with warm water in a stainless steel sink. (Avoid porcelain sinks; the cream damages glazed surfaces.) Remove letters and tape.

Rainy afternoon

So much for yard work. The cold thunderstorms from Minnesota that were supposed to roll in tonight rolled in this afternoon instead. So this is how we spent our time.

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Spice interactions

Omit High Medium Low Very Low
90 to 1,150 mcg 60 to 90 mcg 30 to 60 mcg 10 to 30
mcg		 5 to 10
mcg
kale okra Chinese cabbage tomato paste cashew nuts 1 ounce
collards cabbage lettuce romaine or cos mixed vegetables split peas
spinach rhubarb celery blackberries lima beans
turnip greens plums dried stewed coleslaw blueberries fresh squash winter
beet greens cowpeas or blackeye peas edible pod cabbage red prune juice
mustard greens cabbage Savoy plums dried 5 prunes mangos 1 fruit
Brussels sprouts cabbage artichokes duck (1/2 cooked)
broccoli blueberries frozen grapes red or green salad dressing Italian 1 tbsp
onions Spring or scallion pumpkin cauliflower salad dressing Russian 1 tbsp
dandelion greens peas green carrots beef stew
parsley 10 sprigs tuna fish in oil 3 ounces miso papaya 1 fruit
spinach noodles carrot juice cucumber peeled oat cereal cooked
asparagus spaghetti sauce yellow snap beans pears
sauerkraut mung bean sprouts green snap beans muffins oat bran
endive soybeans cooked vegetable soup soy milk
lettuce green leaf kiwi fruit 1 medium salad dressing French 1 tbsp peppers sweet red
French fried potatoes 1 large fast food serving soup split pea
cauliflower soup clam chowder
raspberries seaweed kelp 2 tbsp
biscuit with egg & sausage fast food (1) chickpeas or garbanzo beans cooked
salad dressing vinegar & oil 1 tbsp fruit cocktail
pine nuts peppers hot chili green
tomatoes fresh chives 1 tbsp
salad dressing blue or Roquefort 1 tbsp peppers hot chili red
bread stuffing 1/2 cup squash summer
turkey patties breaded battered fried 1 patty soup vegetarian vegetable
seeds pumpkin or squash roasted peaches dried 3 halves
lettuce iceberg refried beans
peppers sweet green pinto beans
vegetable juice cocktail avocado 1 ounce
potatoes mashed figs dried (2)
pickle relish 1 tbsp red kidney beans
Asian pear mayonnaise salad dressing 1 tbsp
pickles dill (1) potatoes hash brown
chestnuts apricots canned
plums purple canned sweet potatoes
salad dressing thousand island 1 tbsp tomato juice
alfalfa seed sprouts peaches frozen
fruit leathers 1 ounce
raisins
chili con carne
honeydew melon

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Daring Bakers ~ Bakewell Tart …er…pudding

The June Daring Bakers’ challenge is hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart… er… pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800’s in England. Bakewell tarts…er…puddings combine a number of dessert elements but still let you show off your area’s seasonal fruits.

Like many regional dishes there’s no “one way” to make a Bakewell Tart…er…Pudding, but most of today’s versions fall within one of two types. The first is the “pudding” where a layer of jam is covered by an almondy pastry cream and baked in puff pastry. The second is the “tart” where a rich shortcrust pastry holds jam and an almondy sponge cake-like filling. The version we’re daring you to make is a combination of the two: a sweet almond-flavoured shortcrust pastry, frangipane and jam.


The Challenge was

• Rough Durations: Please see individual recipe elements to see how much time you’ll need. You may pull it together in more time or less—it all depends upon your kitchen’s pace. You can complete the tart in an afternoon, or break it up into a couple of days by making the pastry one day in advance.
• Measurements: These recipes were developed using weight and not volume metrics, so for better results, pull out your scales. We’ve done our best with the Metric to Imperial conversions.
• A giant tart, medium tarts or little tartlettes: We’ll leave that to you.
• Mandatory and Optional Elements
Mandatory element 1: Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
Yes, it’s a pie pastry. Don’t look at us like that. It’s sweet and tender and it’s not scary…and we’re encouraging you to do it by hand and put the food processor away (but if you really want to pull out the gadget, go ahead).

Mandatory element 2: Frangipane
We love onomatopoeia of frangipane: it’s rich, sweet and feels slightly luxurious, and can be used in several confections.

Optional element: Home made jam or curd – I used homemade Raspberry Jam.

Bakewell Tart…er…pudding

Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin

One sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

Jasmine’s notes:
• If you cannot have nuts, you can try substituting Victoria sponge for the frangipane. It’s a pretty popular popular cake, so you shouldn’t have any troubles finding one in one of your cookbooks or through a Google search. That said, our dear Natalie at Gluten a Go Go has sourced some recipes and linked to them in the related alt.db thread.
• You can use whichever jam you wish, but if you choose something with a lot of seeds, such as raspberry or blackberry, you should sieve them out.
• The jam quantity can be anywhere from 60ml (1/4 cup) to 250ml (1cup), depending upon how “damp” and strongly flavoured your preserves are. I made it with the lesser quantity of home made strawberry jam, while Annemarie made it with the greater quantity of cherry jam; we both had fabulous results. If in doubt, just split the difference and spread 150ml (2/3cup) on the crust.
Annemarie’s notes:
• The excess shortcrust can be rolled out and cut into cookie-shapes (heck, it’s pretty darned close to a shortbread dough).

Sweet shortcrust pastry

Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater*. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Jasmine’s notes:
• I make this using vanilla salt and vanilla sugar.
• If you wish, you can substitute the seeds of one vanilla bean, one teaspoon of vanilla paste or one teaspoon of vanilla extract for the almond extract

Frangipane

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Annemarie’s notes:
• Add another five minutes or more if you’re grinding your own almonds or if you’re mixing by hand (Heaven help you).

Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it’s overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish. When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

*One of the reasons I joined Daring Kitchen was to learn new things. No matter how much experience you have, there is always something new to learn. This little trick for cutting butter into pastry was an awesome learn!

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Saying Goodbye to Mother

Here’s another email gem for a laugh:

You don’t have to own a cat to appreciate this one! You don’t even have to like ’em!

We were dressed and ready to go out for the New Years Eve Party. We turned on a night light, turned the answering machine on, covered our pet parakeet and put the cat in the backyard. We phoned the local cab company and requested a taxi. The taxi arrived and we opened the front door to leave the house. The cat we put out in the back yard, scoots back into the front door.

We didn’t want the cat shut in the house because she always tries to eat the bird. My wife goes out to the taxi, while I went inside to get the cat. The cat runs upstairs, with me in hot pursuit. Waiting in the cab, my wife doesn’t want the driver to know that the house will be empty for the night. So, she explains to the taxi driver that I will be out soon, ‘He’s just going upstairs to say Goodbye to my mother.’

A few minutes later, I get into the cab. ‘Sorry I took so long,’ I said, as we drove away. ‘That stupid b..ch was hiding under the bed. I had to poke her with a coat hanger to get her to come out! She tried to take off, so I grabbed her by the neck. Then, I had to wrap her in a blanket to keep her from scratching me. But it worked! I hauled her fat ass downstairs and threw her out into the back yard!

The cab driver hit a parked car.

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Ideas To Help You Maintain a Healthy Dose of Sanity


Thank you Janet and Megan for resurrecting it!

These were in a recent email and I thought they were pretty funny. I highlighted my favorites.
  • At lunch time, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hair dryer at passing cars. See if they slow down.
  • Page yourself over the intercom. Don’t disguise your voice!
  • Every time someone asks you to do something, ask if they want fries with that.
  • Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone has gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.
  • In the Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write ‘ For Marijuana.
  • Skip down the hall Rather Than Walk and see how many looks you get.
  • Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face of course…
  • Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is ‘To Go’.
  • Sing Along At The Opera.
  • Five days in advance of their party, tell your friends you can’t attend because you have a headache.
  • When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream ‘ I Won! I Won!’
  • When Leaving the Zoo, Start Running towards the Parking lot, Yelling ‘Run For Your Lives! They’re Loose!’
  • Tell Your Children Over Dinner, ‘Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go.’
  • Pick up a box of condoms at the pharmacy, go to the counter ask where the fitting room is.

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French Onion & Tomato Soup with Baked Cheesy Croutons

This soup turned out sooooooooooooooooo good and tasted great even in the summer. I can’t wait to have it on a cold winter’s eve.


Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Jen over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
Trista over at Southern Fried Mama hosts Tasty Thursday
Tuesdays at the Table is normally hosted by Andrea over at My Chihauhau Bites but Andrea is taking a break while she has her baby. The button will take you to Andrea’s site, but TATT is being hosted by Cole for a while.

FRENCH ONION & TOMATO SOUP
4 tablespoons salted butter
3 medium Vidalia onions, thinly sliced
3 medium hot house tomatoes
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon minced garlic, jar
6 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon Better than Beef Bouillon
1 tablespoon kitchen bouquet
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
4 thin slices french or sourdough bread, toasted
4 slices Gruyere cheese*

  • Melt butter in bottom of stock pot.
  • Separate onions into rings and add to butter. Cook until tender and golden.
  • Add flour and blend well with butter mixture and onions.
  • Add broth, beef bouillon, kitchen bouquet, paprika, onion powder, celery salt, sea salt and pepper and stir well.
  • Simmer 15-20 minutes.
  • Toast bread and then butter it.
  • Ladle soup into 4 oven proof bowls that have been put on a cookie sheet for easier handling.
  • Place 1 slice of toast over top of soup.
  • Lay 1 slice of cheese on top of toast.
  • Bake at 400 degrees for 7 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Another great option is to use these cheesy baked croutons to top the soup. Both ways are super yummy!

BAKED CHEESY CROUTONS
6 slices thick sourdough bread
butter, melted, enough to coat bread
½ cup Fontina Cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place bread slices on oven rack and bake until dry and golden. Melt butter in flat bowl. Combine cheeses in flat bowl. Dip first in butter and the cheese mixture. Bake on cookie sheet 8-10 minutes until cheese is bubbly and melted. Float croutons on top of soup bowls just before serving.

Yields: 6 BOWLS
Time to make: 1½ hr

*you’d think living close to Wisconsin, the cheese state, I could get all sorts of flavors of cheese, but alas I still can’t find gruyere and have been substituting provolone.
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