Lovin' the Lanc

How to wrap an ironing board

2014-07-14T19:30:00.001-04:00

After purchasing an ironing board off of Jill and Mitch's wedding registry, I loaded it into my car and thought, "How do you wrap an ironing board?" As we drove home from Target, Mom and I brainstormed cute ways to give a large gift at a wedding shower... Gigantic gift bag? Beautiful bow? Nothing at all?

Of course Google has an answer for everything.

"Ok Google, how do I wrap an ironing board?"

Here's my version of the answer:

So easy to do, and super fun! I used a plastic tablecloth and some tulle ribbon. Now why didn't I think of this myself??

Chocolate Covered Christmas Spoons

2013-12-08T16:03:00.000-05:00

For Christmas this year, I made my coworkers personalized etched glass mugs, and filled them with teas, hot chocolate, and cappuccino. To make it better, I thought I'd include some chocolate covered spoons, for stirring tasty drinks!

To start, I melted Baker's semi-sweet chocolate squares in the microwave. Next, I dipped spoons into the chocolate and set it on wax paper to dry. It took forever to dry and left an ugly pool of chocolate under the spoon.

It occurred to me that it was below freezing outside, so I dipped a few more and walked outside. In a few seconds the chocolate began hardening onto the spoon!

(You can see the ones on the end are still wet, they took about 45 minutes to dry!)

Next, I put a few squares of white chocolate into Ziploc bags and melted that in the microwave. I snipped off a tiny bit of a corner and decorated the spoons! (Try to get all of the air out of the bag before squeezing.)

Now that these are finished, I can add them to the personalized mugs I made for my coworkers!

Etched Glass

2013-12-07T18:33:00.004-05:00

Sorry to my coworkers who love surprises at Christmastime and just found this... I discovered how easy it is to etch glass, and now I can't stop!

I bought a small bottle of Glass Etching Cream at A.C. Moore, and used my mom's Silhouette machine to make cut out names on sticky-backed cardstock.

The cream only needs to stay on for 60 seconds, and then everything is washed off.

I filled the mug with tea, hot chocolate, and cappuccino, and will later be adding chocolate covered spoons to stir with! :)

Easter Egg Decorating

2013-04-04T19:14:00.001-04:00

On Saturday I organized a free event for the kids in Columbia. Thanks to Ned and his family who were a huge help, and to Tom who got ahold of 15 dozen eggs! So many kids came and we had a ton of fun!

Supplies: hard boiled eggs, dye, rubber bands, rubber cement, stickers and white crayons.

July 4th Cookies!

2012-07-04T17:18:00.003-04:00

If decorating gingerbread houses are for Christmastime, then these cookies are for Independence Day!

I saw these fireworks cookies in a Martha Stewart magazine from a few years ago and I knew I had to try this! So today Chantelle, Asher, Heidi and I tried it out and had a lot of fun.

Bake sugar cookies and use royal icing. Put about a half cup of white icing into two ziploc bags, then add food coloring. Snip a very small piece off the corner of the bag and use to make dots and designs! The toothpicks help swirl and make hearts. After awhile the icing hardens.

Fennel Rosemary Potato Salad

2012-07-03T13:06:00.002-04:00

I don't know about you, but I get stuck making the same good recipes over and over. Luckily, it's just me I'm cooking for! This is one that gets repeated.

I decided to plant fennel and leeks in my garden just to make this recipe, which I tasted for the first time when I was visiting Jenny at the CSA where she was working. She found the recipe here. Here's my version:

Fennel Rosemary Potato Salad
1 fennel bulb
1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
pinch of salt
5 potatoes
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons greek yogurt
2 tablespoons almond oil
1 teaspoon honey
1 small leek
1. Slice the fennel and place in a smaller sized baking dish. Sprinkle with chopped rosemary and salt. Put in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

2. Peel the potatoes and cut them into smaller pieces, then boil until they are soft (about 15 minutes).

3. Mix the remaining ingredients (except leek) to make the dressing, then put the roasted fennel, potatoes, dressing and leek together in bowl. Enjoy!

Don't be afraid to substitute and change the recipe yourself! I've used cream or regular yogurt, regular onions, different kinds of vinegars, mustards and oils. Use what you have or what is convenient.

to Paraguay and back again

2012-06-16T22:41:00.001-04:00

In April, my parents and I went to visit my sister Chantelle where she was living in Asuncion, Paraguay!

Dad outside of Chantelle's home... a lot of roads were stone like this one, but not main roads

saw this a few times - a tree in the middle of the road!

the children's home where Chantelle works every day

playing basketball some of the kids

walking around Asuncion

the view of the city

public transportation

a too-friendly lemur - Iguazu Falls, Brazil

another sign somewhere read: "don't overtake the boundaries"

still beautiful, even for a dry day

Chantelle and her friend Andrea, who lived in Lancaster for a semester last year

Andrea's mom took us to a beautiful park where we spent some time drinking terere, a traditional drink that everyone in Paraguay drinks. The cup (guampa) is filled with the dry tea and a straw with a filter (bombilla) is placed inside. Then cold water is poured into the cup and passed to the first person, who drinks then passes it back.

she also took us to the town where pottery is painted and sold. The pottery is made in a town close by.

Chantelle just came home late Thursday night, and it's so good to have her back after nearly a year!

Valentine Fortune Cookies

2012-02-13T21:44:00.002-05:00

This is a really fun idea for Valentine's day! I took a basic fortune cookie recipe from youtube (click here for the GREAT tutorial) and only added red food coloring and Valentine messages.

Make your fortunes first! You don't want to be stuck with cookies ready to be folded and no notes ready.

Mix these ingredients together until frothy, but not stiff:
2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
3 Tablespoon oil

Next, add these ingredients and blend:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
pinch of salt
3 teaspoons water

Finally add red food coloring for pink valentines! I added 15 drops and they were very bright.

Spoon just one tablespoon onto a greased cookie sheet and spread out until the batter is a 3 or 4 inch circle. The first time you do this, only bake two cookies until you get faster at folding them. Tip: if you're using spray cooking oil, be sure to rub it in with a paper towel or the cookie may not bake in a perfect circle.

Put the cookie sheet in a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes. The edges will just start to brown.

When they come out, place your secret message in the middle of the baked circle and fold in half.
Note: the picture below is the bright pink you get with 15 drops of food coloring - the paler pictures are from a batch with only 3 or 4 drops.

Next, fold the half over the side of a mug...

...and place them in cupcake tins until they are cool (so they won't expand).

Finish and deliver by packaging your fortunes in carry-out boxes... I found fun ones at Michaels!

Check out this great video tutorial to see the process in action!

Too Easy T-Shirt Scarves

2011-12-27T21:57:00.001-05:00

When I saw this idea, I just had to try it!

I couldn't wait to get to Goodwill and look for bold & rich colors and fun textures to mix and match and make these scarves! I love the Goodwill in Lancaster just past the outlets... They have a Bargain Room with bins where everything is $.85. Only a few years ago, everything was $.50. Just a warning, it can be overwhelming!

I came home with a huge bag of XL sized t-shirts to start with (the more X's the better, for more material to work with and a longer scarf).

First, I paired up colors and textures that I thought would go well together. I found that the best kind of t-shirt for this project is the kind that has a little spandex or stretchy-ness to it.

Next I cut out the middle section of the shirt, as wide as I could keep it.

Cutting out the middle section makes a loop of fabric (you can stop here if you like your fabric and have a simple infinity scarf). I cut one of the sides to make a long strip of fabric.

Lay the two pieces down like this:

The first time this looks tricky, but soon it is easy! Reach your hand under the blue and grab the black pieces, then pull through.

It will look like this:

Now reach under the blue and grab the black pieces one more time.

In this picture, the two outside scarves are finished and the inside ones are not. To complete the scarf, sew the ends together!

I gave these as Christmas gifts to the girls at work!! I love them so much.

Magnets

2011-12-06T21:16:00.001-05:00

For just $1, I bought a bag of smooth glass beads at the Dollar Tree. I've typically seen them used in fishbowls, centerpieces, and vases holding flowers, but they have a variety of craft uses.
I love making these magnets!

First I rip out a bunch of pages from old magazines, advertisements, even pictures that have interesting designs.

Next, I trace around the bead and cut it out.

Then I brush on a layer of Mod Podge and immediately add the paper, finishing with a final layer of Mod Podge.

After it dries, add a magnet to the back or glue to an outlet cover!

cover your outlet covers

2011-12-06T20:38:00.001-05:00

Just when you thought wallpaper was disappearing from the face of the earth... it made a reappearance in my bedroom!

Well, not really wallpaper, but what's the difference, really? This is such a simple way to add color to any room! I grabbed a few old off-white outlet covers that were sitting in a box in the barn, chose a neat piece of scrapbooking paper, and went to work.

First, I traced at least 1/4" around the edge so that it would cover the entire plate

A utility knife makes cutting the holes out much easier, but scissors work fine too.

After cutting, I used a paintbrush to cover the top of the plate with Mod Podge,

pressed the paper on top and finally added a coat of Mod Podge to the top.

After it dried, I put it in my room!

Ron Paul DIY Peel & Stick Craft Tutorial

2011-12-05T16:55:00.001-05:00

Just peel....

and stick!

Melted Crayon Art

2011-12-04T16:20:00.001-05:00

Adjectives that I'd like to pair with this project:
quick, easy, cheap, and fun!!

Last week, I bought 3 boxes of crayons and a white canvas at Ollie's and while I sat in traffic on the way home, I peeled off the labels. It works great to keep them on, too, I just didn't buy Crayola so these wrappers didn't look spectacular.

Later, I lined up the crayons in the order I wanted and glued them down with a hot glue gun.

Next, I put down newspaper (be sure to do this, because it has the potential for spatters!) and plugged in my hairdryer.

I found the low setting to be the most useful, since it doesn't blow air as hard (making messes) but is still warm enough to melt the crayons.

The wax dries very quickly!

Newspaper Nails

2011-12-01T18:38:00.001-05:00

So much easier than you'd expect!

All you need is white polish (or a light shade), newspaper, and rubbing alcohol.

First, paint your nails white. When they are almost dry, dip them into the alcohol and press the newspaper onto your nail. (You might want to experiment with this a little - if your nails are too wet the paint will move and smudge, but if they are too dry the print won't be very dark). Press down on it a little and then peel the paper off slowly, and you'll see that the print has been transferred to your nail. The print won't come off your nail at this point, but add a clear topcoat to make them shine!

whoopie pies and shoo-pie flies

2011-11-19T17:20:00.001-05:00

In the spirit of Lancaster County... I'd like to feature two favorite desserts coming from this area of the world:

Simply, it is a molasses pie. It got its name because of the flies that need to be constantly shooed away.
So Kelly and I tried our hand at making a Shoo-fly pie.

But first...
No-Fail Pie Crust recipe that my mom uses:
Mix together:
5 c. flour
2 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
2 c. shortening

Pour into a liquid measuring cup:
1 egg
1/4 c. vinegar
Then add water until these three ingredients reach the "1 cup" line, then add this to the other ingredients.

This will make 5 pie crusts, which can be refrigerated or frozen to use later.

Roll out the dough as thin as possible, or as thick as you love it! Be sure to put a little flour down, and on your rolling pin so the dough won't stick. I don't have a rolling pin but a glass jar, vase, bottle works well too.

Next, fold the dough in half twice to make it easier to move from the counter to the pie dish, and then unfold it. Trim the edges or make something fancy with your fingers or a fork!

Our pie smelled wonderful while it was baking... but tasted awful! It was so rich and incredibly runny. I'll have to try again soon... I love a good shoo-fly pie!

While I may be a temporary failure at making shoo-fly pie, there's always Whoopie Pies!! Recently there's been debate over where the Whoopie Pie originated, but it's a fact that it can be found right here in the Lanc. Jill invited me over to make them for the square dance coming up. I had never made them before, but I sure have eaten my share!

Lucky for me I broke a few, so those ones had to get eaten instead of wrapped!

Cheating without chemicals or fake light

2011-11-19T16:43:00.001-05:00

Grandma Garber has been growing saffron for years. This summer, she gave me a brown paper bag full of the bulbs, with clear instructions to plant them at the end of July or beginning of August. Mental note to self: August...
I kept them in the sunroom for awhile and soon moved the bag to a shelf next to some books, and a bunch of dried herbs, teas, and seeds for next year.

Today is the 19th of November. I pulled out the bag, looking for a sweet jar to store my mint and realized that I had a bag full of beautiful purple flowers!! Tangled throughout their stems I found a piece of paper with Grandma's instructions. Ooops!

each flower has 3 red stamens that get taken off and dried

the bag of bulbs, after I cut all the flowers off:

You can see why saffron is so expensive - it is a tedious process that produces a very small yield!

Aubergine Parmesean

2011-11-13T18:32:00.001-05:00

Anthony pointed out one day that it seems a little ridiculous that an eggplant isn't the name for the plant, but the fruit. It does seem a little redundant to say "Look how big that eggplant plant is growing" or "I need to plant the eggplant plant I just bought at Hostetter's".

Lucky for him, there is a word that already exists for the fruit that is now trending in the USA, thanks to Abby and myself... We have an activity in the classroom I work that we call the "Shopping Activity". The student gets a grocery list, and he has to find the things on it and put them in his shopping cart. The first list my kid got included aubergines (and "tinned tuna")!

Recently Anthony showed me how to make eggplant parmesean. Considering we didn't have bread crumbs (we tried raisin brain) or parmesean cheese (substituted cheddar), this was the perfect opportunity to try out the phrase Aubergine Parmesan. Delicious, even with substitutions!

Here, Kelly and I tried making Aubergine Parmesean with real bread crumbs and parmesean cheese...

First we cut the eggplant in 1" slices (the peel can stay on or come off).

Next, we dipped each slice in an egg-milk mixture and then into breadcrumbs.

Then we cooked them in a skillet until they were brown

Finally, we added tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese and ate!

Salsa

2011-11-07T11:53:00.004-05:00

When I went to pick up apples with Mom the other day, I also bought a half bushel of tomatoes for $4.50. The only logical thing for a single person to do with that many tomatoes is....

MAKE SALSA!

I looked online for the first recipe, and found a good looking one at food.com.

Ingredients:

14 cups chopped roma tomatoes

3 cups onions, chopped

1/2 cup jalapeno pepper

1 cup green pepper, chopped

1/2 cup vinegar

1/2 cup tomato sauce

3 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

5 tablespoons Clear Jel, that will not break down in high heat during processing. don't substitute

5 garlic buds minced

Directions: Chop all vegetables and place them into a saucepan. Add remaining ingredients, mixing clear jell with water before adding slowly to veggies. Bring to a boil. Cold pack for 10 minutes.

Read the full recipe here.

Clearly disobeying, I did not use the Clear Jel.

For the next batch of salsa, I used the same basic recipe, but cut out the cumin and chili powder and instead added habenero hot sauce. I was slightly disappointed each time when all I ended up with was two large cans of salsa (and a little left over to eat right away).

Both batches turned out very different and so delicious!!

Money Grows on Stalks

2011-10-14T23:04:00.000-04:00

And now, introducing David Morgan, the first guest writer on this blog. I attended Eastern University with David and even though our lives are consistently physically distant, I am grateful for the effort that he has put into maintaining our friendship. While we sometimes disagree, I am always challenged and inspired to think twice about everything. I share similar concerns with him and love his honesty. The following is especially interesting to me because of my somewhat new-found aversion to the amount of sugar in my life:

Corn is delicious. We can pop it, grill it, freeze it, can it, cream it, grind it into flour, bake it into bread, and slather it up in butter before eating it. It complements any barbeque and enables Latin/South American, Spanish, and Mexican cuisine to be AWESOME.

Corn chips are my single favorite type of chip on the market and besides their deliciousness with salsa and hummus, they enhance any sandwich. But I love them all the more for this reason: If you look on the back of a bag of Fritos (I actually prefer Trader Joe’s Corn Chip Dippers—but both are great), you will find only the following ingredients listed: whole corn, corn oil, salt. That is astounding; and in an age of processed foods, Sun Chips (which I also love) cannot even boast that kind of simplicity.

But our delicious and starchy (though not unhealthy) friend, corn is being exploited. In 1957 a man by the name of Richard Marshall (citation Wikipedia), introduced a revolutionary new artificial sweetener: high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Since its discovery, HFCS has taken its place in monopolizing and dominating the American food industry. Interestingly enough, it has amassed a serious corporate following only in America; and due to our abundance of corn, it is infinitely (hyperbole) cheaper than sugar.

I currently reside in Minsk, Belarus where all of the aforementioned treats are nowhere to be found. Minsk, despite its tight government-control over business, its anti-democratic ways, and its pain-in-the-neck visa process, is a place completely worth visiting. It is cleaner than any city in the U.S. that I have been to and it is really just a peaceful and beautiful place. It does however suffer from the colossal insufficiency of a lack of corn chips.

Minsk has done wonders for my health despite being a post-Soviet industrial city. I went from being a couch potato to running five miles a day and even ran the equivalent of a half-marathon (well actually it was 12 miles, but it is still a big achievement for me). I lost a lot of weight and was really feeling quite good about myself. That is until I went to America and lived on a college campus for two months.

Determined to battle the prevalence of HFCS in my American diet and keep the weight off, I decided I would continue to exercise regularly and drink (for the most) only water during my time State-side. It was my second week at Middlebury College and I weighed myself in the locker room at a breezy 187 pounds (something I have not known since high school). I committed to running 5 mile stretches 2-3 times a week, and then four weeks later I weighed myself again: 203 pounds.

How could it be? How could I have gained 16 pounds in a month? Granted my readjustment to college buffet-style eating may have warranted a gain of 5-ish pounds, but 16? That’s more than a stone! I exercised fairly regularly and made no radical changes in my diet, except for one: HFCS.

Though we find it in almost everything in America, the most common-place and internationally-ubiquitous-enough-to-make-a-comparison product is none other than Coca Cola. Coca-Cola in Europe (that is to say, Coca-Cola made with sugar and not HFCS) tastes differently. Our Coke leaves a nasty, sticky, residue inside and around the edge of your mouth. Coca-Cola in Minsk does no such thing, and that makes it better.

It is quite typical in America for the majority of students in the average high school class to be a little overweight. In Minsk it is quite atypical and from what I have seen, the ‘fat kid’ is extremely rare. I blame HFCS.

HFCS has no rightful place in anyone’s diet, and I believe it (and its cousin: partial hydrogenation) is the leading cause of the obesity, diabetes, heart-disease, and unwanted weight-gain epidemics in modern America. HFCS is a cancer that needs to be surgically removed from U.S. food production.

Corn is wonderful, but we need to stop exploiting her because she is cheap and easily accessible.

(This is Minsk, note the lack of HFCS).

Sun-Dried Tomatoes

2011-09-29T21:41:00.000-04:00

Leave it to the good old fashioned sun to be so useful! Not only does it provide light and heat, just 15 minutes a day gives you a dose of Vitamin D, and hanging your white laundry out will leave it whiter than ever. Not to mention the glow we get from a nice summer suntan.

Fortunately for those of us who do not prefer to use free and natural things, there are amazing inventions that you can buy - dryers, light bulbs, vitamin supplements, and food dehydrators! Their best feature: they still work when it's raining or dark outside.

Inspired by Lisa Goodling, I thought I'd try to make sun-dried tomatoes with my multi-functional food dehydrator. Lisa uses the common household appliance called an oven, saving space and I am guessing time as well. She suggests slicing Roma tomatoes in half, placing them on a pan and popping them in the oven at a very low heat all day. Be sure to check on them every once in awhile to see if they are done.

While using a food dehydrator does not save space or time, I would be willing to bet it saves energy, as it heats at a much lower temperature in a smaller contained space.

I sliced whatever tomatoes I could find from my garden (they sure did not do well this year!), placed them on the trays and in just under 24 hours, they were done! I am considering experimenting with spicing them beforehand - garlic maybe? Some basil? Should I sneak in some jalepeño?

Laughter Yoga

2011-09-26T20:38:00.001-04:00

It sounds interesting, looks ridiculous and is borderline annoying, but laughter yoga is absolutely fascinating to me.

Laughter yoga was developed by Dr. Madan Kataria in Mumbai, India in 1995 and has since been taught to a wide variety of people throughout the world, even including prison inmates and the elderly! The idea is to imitate laughter through breathing and stretching exercises. Often the forced laughter becomes real!

Laughter is known to reduce stress, help your immune system, improve your mindset, and deal with your problems. Additionally, it helps bring more oxygen into your body. Your body can not differentiate between real and fake laughter, and Wikipedia cites that the effects of both are the same, physiologically and psychologically.

This video's quality could be better, but it gives a good glimpse into laughter yoga:

Stevia Extract

2011-09-08T19:41:00.000-04:00

I have finally attempted to make my own stevia extract! Click here to see the article I used for guidance, and here to see my first post about growing stevia.

First, I cut a bunch off of my plant. Be sure to leave about 4 inches on the plant.

After washing the stevia, I set it out to dry. Drying in the sun would be ideal, but because of the lovely weather patterns lately along with my patience level, using the dehydrator was my only option.

After it dried I stripped the leaves off of the stems. I use old jars to store dried herbs (for teas and cooking) and seeds (for next year!)

after it dried, I crushed it using a mortar and pestle

I decided to keep it as a powder and add it as needed.

But after adding it to my tea I realized that it does not dissolve well!

so I boiled a cup of water and added the powder, stirring until it dissolved. It left a lot of pulp, but the liquid stevia is intense!! I put a drop in my tea and it was perfect.

Oatmeal Bread

2011-09-08T15:35:00.001-04:00

I'm reposting about this, since it is my favorite thing to bake and the first time I posted about it I did not include the recipe. Refer here to see the original post. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Bread - More With Less Cookbook (slightly modified)

Combine in large bowl:
1 c. quick oats
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 T. salt
2 T. margarine
Pour over:
2 c. boiling water
Stir in to combine.
Dissolve:
1 pkg. (1 T.) dry yeast in
1/2 c. warm water
When batter is cooled to lukewarm, add yeast.
Stir in:
5 c. white flour
When dough is stiff enough to handle, knead for 5-10 minutes on a floured surface. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled. Punch down, shape into 2 loaves and place in greased 9x5x3" pans. Let rise again. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until tops are golden. Cool on rack, brushing loaves with margarine for a soft crust.

rising bread

Josh and Jill trying out the bread with homemade butter

Underground Mount Joy

2011-09-03T22:03:00.000-04:00

Pretty close to Bube's Brewery is an old house.

the entrance to the tunnel

inside the tunnel

stalactites growing

part of an old railroad

one of the rooms inside the tunnel

Pesto

2011-09-03T16:46:00.004-04:00

My basil bush - a mess because of its size and the recent hurricane. I started this from seed in late winter... basil will get huge if it is kept in direct sunlight and if the tops are pinched off before it has a chance to go to seed.

I picked enough basil to get married in... then washed it and picked the leaves off of the stems.

The ingredients I used:

5 c. packed basil leaves

1/3 c. olive oil

1/3 c. water

1/2 c. walnuts

1/3 c. Parmesan cheese

4 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon pepper

This recipe has a lot of flexibility, so make it to how you want it - I only measured the ingredients after I decided how much I wanted in (I only found this much cheese in my fridge, I love garlic, walnuts are cheaper than pine nuts, etc.).

The first time using my new food processor - $1 at a yard sale!

Lastly, I put the pesto into an ice cube tray and into the freezer. Later I'll pop them out and keep them frozen in a ziploc bag. There was even some left over that went straight into the fridge!