The Bon Bon Club

Time Travelling Wife?

2012-02-22T16:31:00.003-06:00

dianadiehlpresents.com

Do any of the rest of you out there ever feel like, even though we have these nifty electronics, gadgets, gizmos, and whirlygigs, that as a housewife of the frugal persuasion you've stepped out of today and into yesterday?

I've felt for the longest time that I've always had one foot in yesterday. There's a generation gap between me and my generation, because I was raised in large part under the influence of adults from an older generation than the parents of my peers. That's a convoluted sentence, isn't it? My grandparents and people old enough to by my grandparents had a large influence on my upbringing. Also, there was the differences in way of life. I mean, really, how many people my age remember getting water out of a hand drawn well, chasing chickens out of the coop so we could make breakfast, hauling logs in to heat the house (not just for an ornamental fire in the fireplace), or the fear of sitting on a spider when you have to make a midnight run to the outhouse? I know of a few, but they're people I spent part of my childhood with.

Keep reading!

Difficult Foods: Chicken Picatta

2012-02-21T08:38:00.000-06:00

Here's another one of those foods that people often associate with moderately nice Italian restaurants. It's not something you'd generally see at a Fazzoli's, for instance. Because of that, this sometimes gets lumped into the "fancy" category. It certainly sounds fancy with its foreign name, but it really isn't.

Have you got some chicken, chicken broth, flour, and lemon juice? Then you've got everything you need for the basic dish right there. Sure, there are variations you can put on it. You can modify anything, but the key ingredients are the chicken and the lemon juice.

But before we start, I have to ask: how well do you like lemon? If you don't like it it at all, then this is not for you. It's very lemony, especially my way.

As a side note: glazed carrots go really really good with this. The contrast of the sweet and sour is awesome. They kind of set each other off and make all the flavors pop.

Keep reading!

Our Not-So-Paper-Towels and a Bag Line

2012-02-16T09:40:00.000-06:00

What I accomplished yesterday...

When I worked at the sheriff's department, t-shirts were an everyday requirement. In summer, we had to wear white v-neck t's, and in winter, we had to wear black crew necks. I have dozens of t-shirts. Some of them are being kept for grungy work, cleaning days, and sleep shirts, but a lot of them are becoming something new.

I've been saying for a while that I was going to try to cut back on paper product use and disposable stuff. Cotton is the component of nearly every kitchen towel and rag in existence. It's not necessarily *the* most absorbent in t-shirt form, because there's not a lot of lift or pile, but I figured they'd make good cleaning rags, napkins, and paper towel substitutes.

Keep reading!

Our Daily Bread

2012-02-06T21:08:00.002-06:00

Most of the people I've talked to agree that baking bread is cheaper than buying it. Most people also agree that it's way better for you, since you actually know what's going into the loaves. And -- drum roll -- you can pronounce all of it. I haven't bought a loaf of store bread in over a month. I think I bought the last one back around the first of January. I can't vouch for it being cheaper, necessarily. We eat more bread now, I think. We eat it for breakfast, lunch, dessert, sometimes at dinner, as a random snack. It's just that *good*!

I have a recipe that Ms. Terri gave me. It was for sandwich bread. It was tasty and simple, but homemade bread goes stale so fast we ended up not eating it all. I didn't toss it, but it got delegated to the freezer for future use in stews or as breadcrumbs. So, I went in search of ways to make my homemade bread last longer.

The two loaves made with Ms. Terri's recipe

I stumbled onto this: Our Daily Bread in a Crock.

If you don't want to follow the link, it's bake as needed artisan bread. It is SO GOOD!

3 c warm water
1.5 tsp dry yeast
2.5 tsp salt
6.5 c all purpose flour

Yep, that's it, Four ingredients. Mix the water, yeast, and salt. It doesn't need to activate, just toss the flour in on top of it, stir until it's just blended together and pulls into a ball. You may need more or less water, depending on weather.

Keep reading!

The magickal properties of plain white vinegar

2012-02-03T21:06:00.000-06:00

I know I've been missing in action lately. I have a really good excuse! Really!

B had knee surgery recently, so I've been trying to take care of him as much as possible lately. I've learned something about myself during this period of convalescence. If he is home, I don't get nearly as much done as I usually do (or ought to). I have a tendency to want to entertain him while he's around. I know I should get off my butt and do something constructive, but it's just so much more fun to watch TV or movies, or play cards, or aggravate him... I mean, umm... mollycoddle him. Yeah...

Anyways, back to the point.

Vinegar! It's awesome stuff. My Gramma used to use it to clean with all the time, but I really didn't know it had quite as many uses as it does. I use it to clean in the kitchen, especially, because I don't trust the harsher chemical cleaners on counters and tables where I make food. I also use it on the floors, because apparently waxed hard wood does not really like chemicals all that well. They make the finish cloudy looking. Vinegar brightens it right up.

I recently bought a couple gallons of vinegar from Sam's club. It came in a cardboard box that had some interesting tips on it. I was already aware of some of these, but others were new to me. So, since the whole idea of this blogging gig is to share info and ideas, here they are:

Keep reading!

Southern Comfort: Banana Pudding (experimental style)

2012-01-21T17:17:00.000-06:00

Oh 'Nanner Puddin', how do I love thee!

The problem is most of the time a banana pudding recipe is for a big 9x13 pan. Who eats that much banana pudding on the regular? It won't keep that long in the fridge, because the bananas start to turn black really quick. I'm sorry, that's just nasty looking, and it doesn't taste right, either.

So what do you do?

Backtrack a few. You know when you buy bananas, there's often that one lonely nanner that just doesn't get eaten? It sits on the counter, getting darker, mushier, and more forlorn looking every day until eventually you just toss the thing, because it's not fit to eat anymore? Maybe you don't, but I do. Every time I buy bananas. I think that what happens is B leaves it for me, and I leave it for him, so in the end it doesn't get eaten by anyone. I'm something of a saver (in case you haven't noticed), and I hate to see anything wasted, so I started putting those lonely bananas in the freezer figuring I'd decide on something to do with them later.

I went to Wal-mart the other day, and I was significantly under my allotted food budget, and they had one of those trap displays. You know the ones where they have all the name brand expensive ingredients for a dish on one display? Well, this one was banana pudding. They had the pricey evaporated milks, vanilla wafers, bananas and stuff all in one spot in the produce section.

Light bulb!

Keep reading!

Fleas!!

2012-01-18T15:51:00.000-06:00

This is my kitty. You all have seen her before. She's been scratching a lot lately, and everywhere she lays for any length of time there is a black dandruff when she gets up. I thought it looked ominously like flea dirt, but just knew that couldn't be right. She's an indoor cat 24/7, 365. She's been outside a few times. In a cat carrier on her way to the car. B and I walked her on a leash when we were making the trek to Texas so she could stretch her legs and have the opportunity to go potty, if the mood struck her. She's never had fleas before. N-E-V-E-R! So I just knew my baby didn't have fleas.

Well, she does.

Apparently they have come in from outside just to find her. The strangest part of it is, B and I haven't been bit or seen them. I am irrefutable proof that vampires do not exist, because anything and everything that sucks blood loves me. I can be sitting in the midst of a group of people, none of whom are getting bitten by anything, and I'll have a swarm of blood sucking creatures flocking around me like a Thanksgiving Day buffet. I've had what I thought were a few bug bites, but just a few. B hasn't had any. This is most unusual since he has the same problem of being tasty to blood-suckers as I do. But because of the scratching and the appearance of what I was certain just could not be flea dirt no matter how much it looked like flea dirt, I decided that L'il Bit must have a bath.

She is *such* a good girl. I've said that on here before, and I will say it over and over. She doesn't like baths very much, but she tolerates them, and no matter how much she probably wants to scratch, she barely lays the tips of those wickedly sharp talons against my skin. She doesn't even leave marks. She just cries and tries halfheartedly to get out of the water. She props her forefeet up on the edge of the tub or my arm and just tugs a little. I've bathed many animals over the years and quite a few cats. She is far and away the best behaved cat in a bath I've ever had.

When I got her out of the tub and cuddled her in a towel to dry, I rolled her onto her back to check her white belly. She isn't crawling with a massive infestation, but there they were. Great big ole nasty fleas chewing on my baby. I didn't wash her with anything special today, because I didn't know for sure she had fleas, but today begins the regimen. I'm going to try to get her to eat a little garlic every day. I'll probably sprinkle some in her food bowl since I don't currently have any tablets. It changes the make up of the oils in their skin, and supposedly makes them less tasty. I honestly have no documented proof that it works, but I've used garlic in combination with other home remedies for deterring fleas, and until now she's never had any, so I believe that speaks for something.

Citrus oil is supposed to be good for getting rid of all kinds of adult insects, because it's a gentle acid that won't harm pets, furniture, floors, or children, but it's persistent. It destroys the shell on insects, causing them to die. So, I peeled the last three oranges, cut the peels into small bits and simmered it for about 30 minutes to get as much of the oil out as I could. The resulting citrus oil solution got sprayed over every exposed inch of hard flooring in the house. This is unfortunate, because I *just* mopped yesterday, and now my floors are all sticky-ish. It's not a bad sticky, but it's sticky. *sigh* I am also out of oranges, and pack rat that I usually am, I didn't save the peels from all the oranges I've cooked with lately. Grrrr... this is why I generally never throw potentially useful stuff away!

I've sprinkled Borax over all the rugs. I don't know precisely why this is supposed to be helpful, but it was recommended on multiple sites. It was recommended as a deterrent, and to kill adult fleas.
Now my biggest worry is the quilts. I can wash my store bought comforter in the washer with hot water. If it messes it up or makes the colors bleed, c'est la vie. But I don't want to ruin my quilts. I think that maybe one of the reasons we haven't been getting bitten more is because of the quilts, actually. I've stored them in cedar for years. The bedroom smells faintly of cedar whenever I change the bedding out. Or it did... until recently. See we have a linen closet here, so I didn't see any need to store the bedding downstairs in the cedar chest (which I currently use as an entry bench). But now I am thinking that I may have to supersede convenience with practicality. Cedar is supposed to be really repellent to bugs. I haven't got a clue why, but I am certain it works, because I've lived places where moths ate highways through the stuff in my closets, but nothing ever bothered the stuff in the cedar chest. So... I reckon I'm going to have to rethink my storage.

B saved the cedar sawdust from building our desks, too. It's damp, because someone left it out when they got something out of the storage shed and it rained, but I think I can spread it out in the sun to dry. Once it's dry, I'm going to spread cedar shavings between the mattresses and under the foam topper. Maybe that'll help keep them from nesting in our bed and bedding. Katie is mailing me some flea drops, too. She said they worked well for her cats, and she had a couple doses left over. L'il Bit is sensitive to that sort of stuff. I put some flea medicine on my cats once after a move as a preventative measure, because the people who lived in the house before us had an indoor/outdoor dog. L'il Bit and her mom both got violently ill. It scared me pretty bad. My other cats didn't seem bothered by it, other than not liking the damp spot between their shoulder blades, but I haven't ever used chemical flea treatments since. But I'm going to try this stuff and see if it works without making her ill. If it does, I may convert back to chemical treatments periodically since the house isn't sealed well enough to keep the fleas from coming after her.

I just absolutely DESPISE fleas....

Remembering

2012-01-13T15:58:00.000-06:00

Continuity.

I mentioned it before in a comment on my post about refurbishing my Gramma's cast iron cookware that I was able to save from my Granddad's new wife. So many of my Gramma's things went to Goodwill, Salvation Army, and the dump before any of us got to even look at it. I was so angry and so hurt.

The skillets you see here, though, I've had ever since I can remember. My Gramma taught me how to fry eggs in them when I was so little I had to stand in a chair to see the top of the stove. I baked my Granddad birthday cakes in them when I was 4 or so. They're kitty wompus, off balance, lumpy, and the handles stick off at odd angles. You can't set them down without something in them, because they won't sit up. The weight of the handles pulls them over. I love them to pieces, and I hope that they never wear out. They're copper clad steel, and cookware like that costs a VERY pretty penny these days. I'd never be able to replace them financially, but it's the sentimental value of them that makes them priceless. I propped them up on my knife rack so you could see just how small they are. They'll only hold a single serving. I made individual apple pandowdies in them the other day. It makes me happy every time I get a chance to use them. Every time I use them, I remember standing on the chair trying so hard to flip a frying egg. I remember proudly presenting the little cakes I'd baked to my Granddad. I remember working in the garden, helping with the canning, and evening tea with a bit of cream.

I guess in some ways that doesn't make sense. Usually if you treasure something you put it up, keep it safe, only bring it out to admire it occasionally, then put it back away. Gramma's gifts were like that for a while. I didn't want to use them, because I didn't want to mess them up, damage them in some way, wear them out. But, my attitude changed over time. Why in the world would Gramma want me to hide her gifts away, never use them, never get any enjoyment out of them other than a fleeting glimpse now and then when I remember her? I began to think she'd laugh at me if she saw how I was treating the things she'd given me. She'd probably say "baby, I gave you those things to *use*."

I used to keep these quilts in my cedar chest. I couldn't imagine putting them on the bed. The one on the far right she made special for me when I was a little girl. It's covered with flower girls and done in primarily lavender because lavender was my favorite color. I used it for years and years. The one on the far left was started by my great, possibly great-great grandma. Grandma had to replace some of the pieces, because the fabric began to disintegrate. It's starting to come apart again, and now it's my turn to repiece it. I was scared to use it just because of that. I didn't want it to come apart. But it would rot away eventually anyway. Either it could rot away where I can see it, use it, enjoy it, and mend it, or it could rot away in a chest where I wouldn't realize it until it was too late to mend.

The middle quilt Gramma made when I was very little. I can't remember for sure, but I think it might be one of the ones she taught me to quilt on. I've got her quilting frame in the basement, and now that I have my spare bedroom back, I think I am going to set the frame up and try to mend these old quilts. It will change them, and that is also part of what I was afraid of. I thought if I mended them, it somehow detracted from them, but it really doesn't. It connects us all. A long line of women sitting on stools, at tables, at frames, with needle and thread, and eventually with machines, mending, piecing, patching, saving bits and bobs of fabric from dresses or shirts, pants and uniforms. Each one of those pieces is a word, or a phrase, or maybe a paragraph of our history. I can't read it, per se, but I can feel it, and I can pass it on one day maybe if I am not irrevocably sterile.

Whenever I tuck myself in to bed, pulling up one of the quilts she made or helped make, she's there with me humming off key, or yodeling, showing me how to embroider, teaching me how to piece, helping me sew a seam, or cuddling in the dark after I've had a bad dream. My Gramma is with me a lot more now that I use the gifts she gave me. Not just fleeting through my thoughts now and again. It sometimes means I miss her a lot more now than I used to, but it also means that I don't miss her the same way, because she's here in many ways, too.

This is the last quilt she made for me. My grown-up quilt. It took her years to save up the scraps of velvet to make it. This is the first time I've used it on my bed. Ironically, I didn't want to get lint and cat hair all over it, because I didn't know how I would clean it because of the velvet. Li'l Bit loves the thing, and curled up on it immediately. The brat. But it sure is warm, and even warmer, because Gramma sewed love into it.

Continuity.

The things we create, the memories we give to our loved ones, that is our immortality. And how our loved ones care for our gifts, mend them, use them, and make memories of their own with them is how we live forever. I used to think that having to mend the things Gramma made and gave me would somehow diminish her presence, but it really doesn't. It just puts a little bit of me in there with her.

I miss you Gramma.

Thoughts and Musings: Duplicity and the tenuous thing called Trust

2012-01-11T21:48:00.000-06:00

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Humans are deceitful creatures. It is amazing the skill with which they will hide their duplicity, and the brashness with which they will carry it out in utter conviction that it won't come back to bite them in the ass one day.

Well, that dog you thought you had by the tail done got a loose, and guess what? The other end? It's got teeth, son.

No, this isn't about B, nor is it about me. Names are intentionally being omitted here, as are details of the circumstances, but I just thought I would take a minute to order my thoughts. There are a lot of things that I would like to say to faces right now, but B has asked me to please refrain, as it won't do anyone any good but me.

I dislike being misled.
I dislike being lied to.
I dislike having my trust abused.
I dislike having my hospitality violated.
I dislike having my character impugned.
I dislike feeling like my house, my haven, has been dirtied.
I dislike feeling like person or persons unnamed have been using and abusing my trust.
I dislike feeling like I was an unknowing accomplice in something that I feel is morally base, cruel, and in all honesty disgusting.
I dislike having to bite my tongue.

But most of all, I dislike being gullible and naive.

I thought I had moved past a lot of naivete through life experiences, but I guess the truth is that I really wanted to believe better of people. I wanted to believe better of this community in particular, even though I know that is foolish. I still wanted it.

You know what I like? And in some cases what I love?

Knowing that I can trust B uncompromisingly.
Knowing that he can trust me with the same unswerving faith.
Knowing that there are other people out there who I can rely on without worry of having my foundations built on sand.
Knowing that my ignorance has not been held against me.
Knowing. Yep, just knowing. Having doubts and suspicions is worse than knowing a thing for a fact. I don't have to bite my tongue to keep from asking accusatory questions that would have only been met with denials and possibly hostility.

We'll see what happens now. I know I, for one, will be more mindful of the company I keep and don't keep, as the case may be.

Orange you glad I like Oranges? Experimental cooking: Orange pork chops and orange pound cake

2012-01-11T15:30:00.001-06:00

That orange right there, as you can see is a monster of an orange. Pup brought back a whole bunch from Arizona when he went home for Christmas. Apparently they're ripe this time of year, because his Iowa girlfriend was talking about how she "picked them right off a tree". That one orange was all I needed for everything in today's blog. I used the whole thing, well except the pith and peels obviously.

Just a warning - my pound cake did not turn out that well. It was way too dry. Even though every recipe I've read says that the cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean, by the time mine came out clean the cake had been baking an hour and a half. Crazy! And it was only moist in the very middle. I was not impressed. The recipe I used was from the Joy of Cooking and only slightly modified. I'll note my modifications, and maybe some of you more accomplished bakers can help me figure out what went wrong. Or, maybe it's just a dry pound cake recipe. I've got some others to try out at a later date.

Orange Pound Cake

2c Butter
2c Sugar
9 eggs (separated or not, bakers preference)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp mace (I used cloves)
2 Tbsp rose water (I used orange juice from one orange segment which was 2 Tbsp exactly)
4c cake flour (or substitute by putting 2 Tbsp corn starch in a measuring cup and filling the rest of the way with all purpose flour, which is what I did) Sifted, measured, and resifted
1/2 tsp salt
(optional, 1/2 c dried fruit or nuts. I added 2 Tbsp orange zest)

All ingredients were at room temperature.

Cream the butter, then slowly add the sugar and cream. Add eggs one by one, beating well in between additions.
Add vanilla, mace (cloves), and rose water (orange juice).
Slowly add in flour until just blended with mixer on lowest speed.
Pour into two greased and floured 9x5 loaf pans and bake at 325 for about one hour.

Alternately, the recipe said you could add only the egg yolks one by one, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, and fold them into the dough after the flour has been mixed in. The book said that the traditional dense pound cake is achieved by adding the eggs whole, though. So, that's what I did.

An hour later, they looked beautiful, but were still runny. An hour and a half later, they were finally not runny (checked on them every 10 minutes to try to avoid over cooking), but the cakes were dry (even though they tasted great per Pup and B).

I used two orange segments for the glaze:

Orange Glaze

1 1/4 c powdered sugar (I just put regular sugar in the blender with a spice blade in it, so I don't have to keep powdered sugar around since I rarely buy the stuff, but randomly require it.)
1/4 c fruit juice
1 tsp vanilla

Blend everything together until smooth. It dries into a semi-hard glaze.

(Next time I might make a syrup or sauce instead)

B said the taste is wonderful, but I disagree. I think he is easily impressed. Either that, or maybe it does taste great, and I am just spoiled rotten with really fabulous pound cakes from my former Grandmother-in-law.

The second experiment, involving the rest of the orange (which yielded total about a cup and a half of juice or more) involved pork chops. I have some boneless breakfast chops in the freezer, because they are my favorite for making schnitzel. They're small, no bigger than my hand, so I was able to put three of them in my medium-ish skillet. I think it's 8 in? I seasoned the pork with salt, pepper, ginger, and cloves, then browned it in sesame oil. I sauteed a small onion in the same skillet until golden and tender. Then I poured the orange juice into the skillet on medium heat (it was deep enough to come up a little past the bottoms of the pork chops), and simmered it covered until almost all the liquid was gone.

I steamed some broccoli, made mashed potatoes, and made a homemade cheese sauce with a roux of:
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp butter
browned and thickened.
add 1 c milk, and put it in the oven on 350 for about 30 minutes (so I could pay attention to everything else on the stove and not have to worry about my gravy burning). In that 30 minute time frame, I also added a cup of shredded cheese and a slice of cheddar and stirred it up. I popped it back in the oven until all the cheese was melted and viola. Cheese sauce. I think next time I'll use a bit less flour, because I could taste it. Either that or I'll brown the flour more before I add the milk.

The pork chops and the cheese sauce were both a HUGE hit. No, the nail polish wasn't a garnish. It just happened to be on the table when I took the picture. But I am sure you could decorate the potatoes up with it very interestingly. ;-)

Thoughts and Musings: Rationalizing my daily life

2012-01-11T11:37:00.000-06:00

What do I do all day? Let's start with what I did this morning so far. I've cleaned the kitchen, started bread (it's currently rising), started chicken stock (it's currently simmering), made myself a bite to eat (munching on it while I'm typing), decided on a dinner plan, amended my grocery list, and made a start on organizing the refrigerator's freezer. After I finish my brunch, and this little note, I'm going to check on my stock, strain it, bag it, label it, and freeze it. By that time my bread should have finished rising, so I'll start a loaf proofing and put the rest in the fridge for another baking tomorrow or the next day. After that, I'll sweep the floors, and maybe putter around straightening up before it's time to start dinner so I can have it ready by the time B gets home from work this evening.

I feel like I do work a bit. The time spent in the kitchen honestly feels more like play time than work time, and I think that's part of where I feel the most guilt in this housewife gig. Work shouldn't be fun, my brain says. You should do more work, the little nag on my right shoulder says. Making stuff for the house, like rugs, curtains, pillows, etc. doesn't seem much like work. Those are hobbies, not jobs. Cleaning feels like work, but honestly I am just no the best shakes at that.

My Gramma used to have a plate that hung on the kitchen wall. It said something to the effect of:
May my kitchen be clean enough to be healthy, but dirty enough to be happy.

Her entire house was like that. Not that Gramma was a slob, but she was a clutterbug. She kept things. Anything could be a souvenir. I am just as bad. Sometimes I look around my house at the things that could look nicer, or I see how a neighbor's house looks and figure I could do better, or I see pictures like this:

I feel a little guilty wondering why my living room never seems to look so nice. Then I wonder who in the world could live there and have no accumulation. No detritus of human existence floating around. No project in the works, no book laying out half read, no shoes kicked off laying like floundered fish on the carpet. Nothing. My living room is kind of junky. It's not stylish. It's not neat and orderly. There are pillows that don't match on the couches. As Katie would say "they go", but they don't match by a long stretch. I made one, my Gramma made one, and my Great Aunt Annie made the other all at various times through the history of my life. One of those pillows is almost 30 years old. So, they don't match, it's not polished, but it's definitely mine. No one else has those particular pillows on their couches. There's stuff stacked at odd angles, some of it precariously on the tops of the bookshelves, on the cedar chest cum entry bench, on the desks and entertainment center. People live in here.

I actually have been slowly paring down the stuff. It's taking time, because I am remarkably attached to some of my stuff, and B can't give me straight answers half the time to what he wants to do with his stuff. But it is happening, slowly.

I still feel vaguely like I just don't do enough. I feel like maybe if I did enough, I'd look around and think "it sure looks nice in here" instead of "gee look at all that stuff. What should I do with it?" I feel like, since this is what I do -- this is my job -- I ought to keep it nicer. Then I think about what I do with my time, the stuff I make, the meals I prepare, the longcuts I take that save money in the long run, and the quality of life right now versus how it might prospectively be if I were to wear myself out constantly trying to keep the house just so. The nagging that would ensue as I tried to get B and the Pup to keep it just so. The irritability that would likely be a constant cloud around me like Pig Pen's cloud of funk.

No thanks. I think I'll keep my clean but cluttered spaces. Besides, I don't always look around and think my house is junky. Sometimes I look around and laugh at myself, because it reminds me a lot of my Gramma's style of clean. My idea of what is acceptable and what is not might change if I ever have to worry about a kid running around. But right now, I think I'll take it like it is. On that note, I better go check on that chicken stock, and it won't be long before my dough is ready.

I have a recipe to share later today, but it'll have to wait until I get another free moment.

Make-do Monday - T-shirt Tote Bags

2012-01-10T09:04:00.000-06:00

For a change, a project I didn't knit or crochet.

I love my chest freezer. It's awesomesauce. I can go to Sam's and the commissary once a month (with varying side trips to the grocery in between for the stuff that is just bound and determined to run out at off times), stick everything in my freezer and pantry, then crawl back under my rock for another month. I actually like living under a rock. Too much interaction with too many people makes me very cranky. I get cranky enough all on my own without having the additional help.

Maybe some of you out there are more disciplined than I am, but when I get home from a shopping trip and am divvying up goodies for the freezer, fridge, and pantry, the goal is to get it done and get on with something else. I usually try to at least keep plant matter on one side of the freezer and protein on the other, but it doesn't always work out that way. Then, when I am rummaging through looking for something in particular for a meal, or hunting for that leftover baggie of spaghetti sauce that I just *know* is in there, stuff gets all shuffled around, jumbled up, and becomes a right mess of frozen edibles all piled haphazardly with no semblance of order. No, there are no pictures. I didn't want a record of my slovenly freezer floating around.

I was over reading Dee's blog post about organizing her freezer, and it looked like a no-brainer. Duh... I'm supposed to be pretty intelligent, so why didn't I think to do this before? But, all of my baskets are wicker. I have too many baskets according to some, but I just keep finding things to use them for. I have a few smaller cardboard boxes floating around from packages and moving, but I could see that becoming a problem eventually, because none of them are that waxed cardboard.

Reading through the comments, I saw that one person uses those cloth shopping totes. I have fabric. I can do that!

But, I'm also not feeling motivated to make half a dozen tote bags.

But I have t-shirts and tank tops!

No... I really don't throw out nearly as much as I should. And this is a perfect example of WHY!

I have a pile of plain white and black t-shirts from my time at the sheriff's office. I still wear them, occasionally. I mean, who doesn't ever have a really scrungy job to do and they don't want to mess up any of their good t-shirts by accident, or when I dye my hair, or sometimes as a cleaning rag. But in all honesty I have too many. I don't need a dozen white t-shirts. And the tank tops... well, they haven't fit in quite some time. I keep saying one day I am going to drop enough weight to finally get into them, but the truth is, I was the smallest I've ever been (high school size) the month I moved to TX. If they didn't fit then, they're just never going to fit. And, what's a tank top but a tote bag with an unfinished bottom?

All I did for the tanks was sew the bottom hem together, and the straps became instant handles. Fabulous! Took all of a minute, and that included threading the sewing machine.

The t-shirts took a little more time. I cut the sleeves off, and then enlarged the neck to make a wider mouth for the bag.

Yes, I used black thread on the white t-shirts. It's ok, my frozen foods won't care.

All the bags wad up nice and small, so I can cram them inside each other when (LOL as if) they're not in use in the freezer. They can become shopping bags at Sam's, or wherever, and I can chuck them in the washing machine if something happens to leak, bust, or otherwise get messy. It's not quite as orderly as nice stackable baskets, but this was no additional cost to me. I had everything I needed right here at the house, and the only thing that I actually paid for at one time or another was the t-shirt itself. Since said t-shirt is five years old, and had holes worn in it, I'd say that I've already gotten more than my money's worth of wear out of it. :-)

While it may not *look* all neat and pretty, I can reach in and grab my chicken, veggies, leftovers, pork, fruit, boiling meat, etc. in one grab. The smaller odds and ends are still just in the baskets that came with the freezer, but they don't ever get any more plentiful than that. There's also a handy shelf in there that holds my beef, since I try not to cook with too much red meat for B. My freezer is so much easier to navigate now, and I didn't have to go shopping to get it that way :-) Happy day!

Now.... how long will this last?

Gramma's Fried Apple Pies, and an Apple Pie, too

2012-01-05T18:56:00.000-06:00

Is there anything in the whole world quite so yummy as a good apple pie? Yes! A good FRIED apple pie!

My Gramma made the best, and I mean THE BEST, fried apple pies known to mankind. They were so amazing!! Mine aren't quite like hers. Unfortunately no one got her exact recipe, and I don't even know that she had one. I think it was a dash of this, a taste of that, and this might be good so I'll just put a pinch. She had this monster of a pressure cooker, and a three foot long rubber spoon that she stirred the astounding batch of apple awesomesauce with. You could smell them all the way outside, and even though we were thoroughly sick of peeling apples, I don't remember complaining about it. *note: I could be wrong LOL Dad would know better. But peeling apples mean apple pies, and apple pies were worth peeling apples.

WARNING: This is going to be one of ~those~ recipes, you know where nothing is quite what it seems. Fiddle with it. Everyone's tastes are different.

Filling:

1/3 - 1/2 c (give or take) each white sugar and brown sugar. With Granny Smith apples, 1/2 c wasn't enough, so I added in a little extra for the next batch.
3-4 Tbsp flour or corn starch - I like corn starch better. It doesn't taste, and it seems to thicken more evenly.
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
2 tsp vanilla flavoring or extract
1/2 c butter
7c apples peeling and sliced or chopped. - for fried apple pies, chop them small. For a regular apple pie, it's up to you. Some people like them sliced, others chopped. Me? I don't care as long as it's good :-P

Melt the butter, add both sugars and melt together. Stir it frequently to keep it from scorching. Add everything but the starch or flour, and mix in well. Turn the heat down low and let them stew slowly. Keep an eye on them, stirring them now and then to make sure they're not sticking. When they've gotten as soft as you want them (if I can cut them with a spoon without having to press too hard, that's about right) add in the starch or flour, and let it thicken up as thick as you want it. Remove from heat and get your crust(s) ready.

Double Pie Crust:

2c all purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
2/3 c shortening or butter (chilled)
6 Tbsp cold water

Combine the dry ingredients, cut in the shortening, add water one Tbsp at a time and mix until a cohesive ball forms.

Divide the dough into two almost equal balls (one slightly larger than the other) and roll out to about 1/4 inch thick. Put the larger circle in the pie plate, add the filling, and top with the smaller circle. Fold the edges under and crimp how you like. Gramma used to use a fork.

Cut a few air vents in the top, and bake at 375 for 30-50 minutes, until it's a nice golden brown. You can use an egg white wash on the top to make it shiny and pretty and get a better color.

But to make Gramma's fried apple pies, you need biscuit dough.

6c self rising flour
1 - 1 & 1/2 c shortening
1 & 1/4 cup milk

and a little extra flour for fiddling.

Just a note, this is not how I make buttermilk biscuits. I use more shortening and more liquid. I think they're too tough like this, but that's the secret. You have to have tough biscuit dough for good fried apple pies. Work the biscuit dough till it is a little drier than you want it for biscuits. (Is this not helpful? I'm doing my best.) Normally biscuit dough is kind of sticky and softish. You want your dough to be not sticky, and a little more dense, like playdough... sort of.

Roll it out and cut circles just like you would for biscuits. Then roll out the biscuits until they are a little thicker than a pie crust, but thinner than for a sheet cookie. (I know, I know.. I get more country by the sentence with these instructions!) Put a couple tablespoons of your apple goodness in the center, fold over and smoosh the edges together. Now, put a little water around the flattened edge to moisten it, and fold it back on itself so the water helps it stick.

Cook it in a preheated skillet that is only lightly greased (yes, grease. Not oil. I don't know why but it makes a difference. Oil seems to soak right into the dough.) over medium to medium high heat. Let it get good and brown on bottom. Don't fiddle with it! You'll bust it. Gently flip it over, and brown the other side.

They are so yummy!

If you don't want to make as many all at once, the biscuit dough can be reduced by 3.

2c flour
1/3 - 1/2 c shortening
3/4 c milk

The apples are perfectly good frozen and thawed later.

A backlog of Thrifty Thursdays and Make-do Mondays

2012-01-05T13:55:00.000-06:00

Even though I've been off the internet for the past two weeks and the housework has slid while we were on our staycation, I couldn't just completely sit still.

I think I have figured out my Gramma's fried apple pie recipe. The magic is the filling. The crusts are just biscuit dough, but I have a few kinks to work out before I post that recipe.

I made two rugs for the bathrooms.

I got 80 lbs of this olefin yarn for around $80 after shipping and handling. Included in the box were also a few random spools of much higher quality yarn. I got a 10 lb spool of merino lace ($10 for 10 lbs where normally I would pay $20 or so for less than a lb), there was a baby cake of white flannel, and another spool of sea green lace weight yarn that I don't know the fiber type. It was a helluva deal. The problem was I couldn't knit with most of it. Olefin is the stuff carpet is made of. It's a double thread with tufts of stuff between and twisted. Knitting with it caused all kinds of bunching, breaks, and other pains in the rear that made it worthless as far as I was concerned. I was not happy since the mystery box had been billed as a knitting selection. The spools of lace yarn more than made up for the price, but I didn't have any idea what to do with these spools of crap. I refused to throw them away.

One day I decided to try crocheting with them, and viola! It worked!

They were both done similar to granny squares. I am not an accomplished crocheter by any stretch, so they are asymmetrical and a bit lumpy around the edges, but for tromping on, they work just fine.

B's birthday is coming up, and he likes to fish. The problem is he doesn't like toting his backpack when he goes fishing, because he has to take it off to get to his tackle. A regular tackle box would still have to be set down and picked up constantly, because he likes to walk the shore instead of picking a spot and sticking to it. He mentioned he was going to go buy a satchel. I jokingly refer to it as a man-purse. I offered to make him one.

I think it turned out pretty good. It's got two lined interior compartments. I used remnants of skeins I already had here at the house, so I didn't have to buy yarn. I used scraps for the lining, and the strap is an old belt that the buckle was broken on. :-) I carved the fish toggle out of a scrap of cedar that was left over from when B made my desk.

And yesterday while I was stomping around the kitchen in a horrible mood, I dropped an egg in the box of my Gramma's cast iron cookware. I was planning to save the refinishing of the cast iron for summer, because I figured the super dry Texas heat would be almost as good as an oven for expanding the iron and allowing grease to soak in. There wasn't enough room in my oven for all the pieces.

But.... the egg changed my mind.

Before scrubbing

The iron was really rusty. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to save it or not. It had been in storage for untold years, and Georgia is so damp everything rusts or rots eventually. It was also super dusty. The dust had stuck to the seasoned skillets, meaning I had to strip the top of the seasoning off at the very least.

I used straight vinegar and steel wool. I could've used a solution of vinegar and water, then let them soak in it overnight. But where was I going to soak them? And that would've stripped off all the seasoning making me start from scratch on them. That is not a prospect I was keen on. I've tried to season fresh cast iron before, and it just sucked.

Before Scrubbing.

After scrubbing

After Scrubbing

When they were completely dry, I rubbed them with crisco all over. (inside, outside, bottoms, handles, everything) Then I put them in the oven at 250 for three hours or so. After that, I turned the oven off and let them cool slowly as the oven cooled.

I think they made an amazing recovery. I haven't cooked with them, yet, so I don't know how they'll taste or if the seasoning is thick enough. I may need to do a few more layers before they're as good as Gramma used to keep them, but I am so tickled that they are going to be usable again. I was worried that they would be delegated to a nail on the wall and a sad tale of how Gramma used to cook in them.

I made a teddy bear had for Fin's coming arrival. He's got all kinds of silly cute clothes, but I wanted to give her something for the new baby, and the yarn was just sitting there staring out at me between the slats of my basket begging to be a teddy bear hat.

And I thought that I would commemorate the amazing organization of my spice cabinet (temporary though it will assuredly be). Top right = refills in back, bakings/sweets spices up front as well as baking needs (yeast, baking soda, baking powder). Middle right = all my savory spices, and bottom is breakfast munchies (granola bars, poptart crisps), and the waffle iron that I was absolutely stoked to get off the counter. Left top has some baking goodies overflow, and the rest of the left side is dedicated to warm drinks (coffee, tea, cocoa) and their fixin's. I completely reorganized my pantry, too. I didn't take pictures of that, but it is equally orderly and segmented. I know this won't last past the end of January, but at least for a while I can find absolutely everything with ease and precision.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

2012-01-05T13:05:00.000-06:00

Or at least that's what they tell me. So, while I was away did you guys like me better? :-P

By the way:

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

B had a couple weeks off work, the last week of December through the first week of January. While he was off the rule was No Work. Um... ok. We were such sloths shambling around the house in our PJs, not waking up till afternoon, and otherwise just being absolutely worthless. It was fabulous.
Until this past Tuesday when he went back to work, and so did I.

I've been divvying up the work into days. The kitchen was first, because that is my baby. I love my kitchen and it's been sadly neglected. I did the dishes, cooked, etc., but no really good cleaning. Next was the bathrooms. They were in the second worst state of sorriness. Today, I'm primarily focusing on catching up on laundry. I really should work on straightening up the living room, but for some reason I just don't have the foggiest idea of where to actually start. There are things that probably will never be unpacked. I could just chuck them in the basement, but the problem with that is our basement leaks something awful when it rains. Next time B makes a trip to Lowe's or Home Depot, I am going to get him to pick up some scrap wood. They let you have odd ends and bits for free, which is really nice. I'll use that like risers to keep my boxes off the floor. If it doesn't flood too deep, maybe that will be sufficient.

Sad day! My neighbor Fin is going back to her home state soon. Even though sometimes I found her incessant perkiness trying to my patience (I'm just not a perky person), I enjoy her company. She's always full of fun ideas, and she brightens up otherwise boring or gloomy days. She's one of the sole reasons I actually go out taking me on random Wal-Mart runs where I would have fun whether I wanted to initially or not (lol), or sitting on one or the other of our front porches in the morning with coffee and just yapping. Hanging out in the back yard watching her midget run around playing. :-( I'm going to miss both of them. The old saw "the only thing that never changes is change" is smacking me upside the head. It doesn't change the fact that is sucks, though.

Vaping?

2011-12-12T19:15:00.001-06:00

So, apparently there is already a slang term for smoking e-cigarettes. "Vaping." Huh... Who'd have thought that our entire existence would become so digital that we send e-mails, read e-books (I have a terror of all the real books disappearing and being forced to read e-books. I find it a particularly gross form of blasphemy), have e-dating, keep e-journals, and now there are e-cigarettes. No smoke, no tar, no solids, no second hand stuff, just water vapor with nicotine and flavoring. Yes, nicotine is still technically bad for us, but the carcinogens actually come from the burning leaves, not the chemical we crave. Technically speaking, I quit smoking today.

Just like so much else, the electronic and technological world is taking over and making smoking obsolete. Not that that is a bad thing, in all honestly. I would rather not have cancer, but quitting is a real bitch. If any of you have ever tried (and hopefully succeeded) then you know what I'm talking about.

Meet Blu. No, I am not getting paid for this. I wish I was! Blu cigs were recommended to me by a cousin whose college campus banned all forms of tobacco. If I hadn't gotten a solid recommend from someone I know and trust, I never would've really considered e-cigs, but I trust Ivy with more than just product recommendations. So B and I decided to order a couple of starter packs and see what happened. B actually got a nicotine buzz off of his, so we might should've gotten lights instead of full strength. They actually taste good. Have you ever smelled pipe smoke? They taste like that smell. Granted, it isn't what you're used to, but it really was a pleasant surprise. There's no stink either. No messy ash trays, or butts to dump. Yes, this is only the first day. We still haven't gotten over the pleasant surprise of them being both satisfying and palatable. There may possibly be drawbacks we haven't encountered yet.
We'll see how it goes.

An Update: Make Your Own Laundry Soap

2011-12-12T11:15:00.003-06:00

So, I finally ran out of the laundry detergent that was given to us when our neighbors down the way moved out. The same ones that gave us the couches and a grill. I may not run out of dryer sheets until the middle of next year.

I rinsed out the cap from the empty bottle of detergent and decided to use that as my scoop for my homemade detergent. I wrestled with the lid of the bucket, trying really hard not to accidentally tip the darn thing over. Why do they make those lids so flippin tight? I needn't have bothered. When I finally got the lid off my bucket, I was looking at dry bubbles. You know, like you see in the top of your pancakes when it's time to flip them? Dry. Dry?? My liquid detergent had turned into something solid. I was dumbfounded. Immediately, I sent a text over to my friend Rey asking if that was supposed to happen. She says it happens to hers all the time, but seems to be worst when it's chilly out. Just stir it.

So I stirred, and I stirred, and I was up to my wrists in the stuff because it had solidified all the way to the bottom of the bucket. Kind of like magic, water seemed to return to the bucket. I never got all the lumps out of it, but it returned to something resembling a sort of oozy liquid. So, if anyone out there is thinking of giving it a go and you open your bucket to find jello where detergent once was, it's ok. Just stir.... a LOT.

Now, I need to go out in the yard and finder a stronger stick, because the one I have is apparently just not going to hack it much longer. On the bright side, I had my hand in that soap for quite a while, and the worst I can say is my skin is a bit dry feeling. No itching, no burning, so strange slimy residue that refuses to come off no matter how long I rinsed. Pretty awesome :-) And Rey usually breaks out from laundry soap, but she's been using this stuff for months now (she's on her second batch), and no one in her sensitive skinned family has had any issues with it.

It's that time of year: Pictures, Recipes, and Suggested Sneaky Snacks

2011-12-08T20:27:00.001-06:00

Yep, it's the time when we start dragging out the trees, putting up baubles, lighting the lights, and remembering to be nice a little more often. I've not been doing such a great job of the "nice" part. I've been a bit grouchy the past few days, but I've been super excited for almost the past solid month. I haven't been on my blog nearly as much lately as I generally try to be, but I do have a valid excuse! Really! Just keep reading... or scrolling at least.

Li'l bit lurking under the tree. She has a new set of catnip toys under there. And B and I. Fin was nice enough to come take a picture for us. :-)

But THIS is the reason I've really been so absent. Yes, wax is the culprit. See, if you take 1/3 of one of those bars of paraffin, and 12 oz of chocolate (either chips or chunked up bars), and you use it to dip stuff in... magic happens!!!

Like peanut butter balls!! Graham cracker crumbs, peanut butter, and powdered sugar, rolled into balls, chilled, and then dipped in chocolate/wax goodness. Oh yes.... I'm sorry, I can't be more specific. This recipe isn't mine to give away. It's my Great Aunt D's, and my cousin (her granddaughter) was generous enough to share it with me, along with a very special recipe for hard candy.

This hard candy brings back so many childhood memories. Unfortunately, I didn't use the right type of flavoring, so it's on the bland side. It also appears that using a non-stick pot is bad news bears for hard candy. Maybe it doesn't heat as even? I don't know, but it doesn't taste quite right. Ivy is reporting recipe tweakings to me, so that we can continue the tradition of Aunt D's famous hard candy. :-D My cousin ROCKS!

I don't think the paraffin/chocolate idea is proprietary, though. And once I realized how easy it was to make dipping chocolate that would harden right... well... here's what happened! To make anything you see below, just melt the chocolate and the paraffin wax together over low heat. Once it's melted, just dip whatever you want. A fork works best to retrieve things you dipped in all the way (like the cracker/peanut butter goodies). A slotted spoon messed up the chocolate coating on the bottom. The treats just slide right off the fork no problem.

For the drizzles, I used the same chocolate and wax mixture. I just dipped a fork in and sort of slung chocolate onto the treats. Amazingly, I didn't wind up with chocolate on the ceiling ;-)

Chocolate dipped pretzels, and peanut butter and ritz cracker sandwiches: The white chocolate edition.

Dark chocolate dipped pretzels with sprinkles!

White and milk chocolate mixed together became a drizzle, and a medium for dipping broken up bits of the pretzel rods. And graham crackers got dipped and drizzled, sprinkled and coated.

The milk chocolate edition of the peanut butter and crackers, and the fully dipped grahams.

And then, of course, the Pup's present. I turned the graham cracker box inside out and decorated all four sides. It's got a sampling of the chocolate dipped goodies, and some smaller bite sized bits that I tried to mix together to look like kibbles and bits or puppy chow. I also made a batch of puppy chow.

Puppy Chow
Chex (or chex like) cereal
1/2 c peanut butter
1/2 stick butter
1 c chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
Powdered sugar

Melt the butter, peanut butter, and chocolate. Mix in the vanilla after everything has melted. Toss the cereal in it, and then toss the cereal in powdered sugar. Ta da! Puppy Chow. Soooooo good!

And he had to have something to eat all his goodies out of. I doodled all over the sides. Yes, he will actually play with the squeaky bone, if for no other reason than to aggravate B LOL :)

And of course we had to have cookies. Unfortunately, the icing job was pretty shoddy. I was experimenting with my own icing. It's just milk and powdered sugar mixed together till it's the right consistency. I apparently didn't have it quite right, because it sort of oozed off the cookies. But, now I know better for next time, and it still hardened up just like it was supposed to once it sat.

Sprinkles!!

The cookies are Spiced Sugar Cookies. I found the recipe HERE. They were really easy, and taste similar to snickerdoodles.

Last, but Oh -- Em -- Gee not least: Peanut Butter FUDGE! Oh boy, that stuff is awesome. It didn't turn out *quite* right.

4c Sugar
1c Milk
1/2 c Butter (1 stick)
7 oz Marshmallow Creme
12 oz Peanut Butter
2/3 c All Purpose Flour

Ok... when I read that recipe, I was thinking that there are 8 oz in a cup, so that is a cup and a half of regular peanut butter. The fudge didn't quite set up. It's very soft and squishy, so I am thinking that should be peanut butter chips. However, it doesn't matter that the fudge is squishy, it is Amazing! Yes, capital A. So good! I'd never made fudge that worked before. This was too easy, and too yummy.

Sugar, milk, butter goes in the pot. Melt the sugar and bring it to a boil. Stir constantly while the sugar is melting, but then don't stir it anymore.

Let it boil for five minutes. Then remove it from the heat and mix in the marshmallow creme and the peanut butter or peanut butter chips. Very slowly stir in the flour, and pour it into a buttered 9x13 baking dish to cool. This stuff is so good, I am only allowed to make it at Yule from now on. We can't walk by without grabbing a piece.

Chicken n' Dumplings: This is for you cuz!

2011-12-05T19:37:00.001-06:00

My cousin got to come visit a couple three years ago, and while she was staying I decided I should make chicken and dumplings. It's cheap, easy, and oh so yummy. She recently asked me how I make chicken and dumplings. I gave her a brief rundown via a social networking site, but there's nothing like a good old tutorial if you've never done something before.

Here's what you'll need:

A chicken
A pot big enough to hold the chicken and plenty of water
2c flour (plus some extra for fiddling)
1c water (for the dumplings)
Spices - whatever makes you happy.

Things I have learned through trial and error:

The more tender your chicken is, the easier it is to get the meat off the bones.
It really doesn't matter what kind of flour you use, what matters is how you want your dumplings.

All purpose flour gives a chewier, firmer dumpling.
Self-rising flour gives a fluffier dumpling and provides a little salt.

There is no wrong way to make a dumpling, drop, tear and squish, roll and cut - it's just a matter of preference.
It's REALLY hard to season your chicken and dumplings "wrong". You're working with a chicken and flour. That's about as blank slate as you can get in the world of dinner.
It's really hard to cook your chicken "too long".
You CAN cook your dumplings too long. They proceed to fall apart.
You can freeze this, but the dumplings might change texture a bit (get softer), especially if you have soft fluffy dumplings.

If you want to freeze it, freeze your dumplings raw, and freeze your chicken and broth separate. Then just bring to a boil, drop in your dumplings, and your done.

So you got a bird, and you got a pot. Put the bird in the pot. ;-)

Now get out those spices. Whatever you want, really. Take it tex-mex and add chili and cilantro. Go for old world and put is caraway. Give it a Caribbean flair with some allspice and ginger. Do what ya do! For an old-school Grandma's style, just put in some salt and pepper and call it good.

Me? I'm a spice fiend. I love the stuff. You might be wondering what all you're looking at here. And no, this isn't all necessary, but I've been told I make fabulous chicken and dumplings :-P

What you see:

Salt
Pepper
Chili Pepper
Old Bay style seasoning
Garlic Powder
Basil
Parsley
Oregano
Allspice
Sage
Paprika
Rosemary
Tony Chechere's Creole Seasoning
Tarragon
Thyme
Bay Leaves

What you don't see:

Worcestershire Sauce

How do I know how much to use? Well... really? I don't. I'm guessing about 1/2 tsp of everything, except salt and pepper. I start off with a teaspoon of each of those. Salt is by guess and by gosh. The amount of salt you need kind of depends on how much flour makes it into your broth with your dumplings. So, keep it out and handy.

I use a general rule of thumb about all my spices: Dust the bird's back (because I usually put it in the pot breast down) with each spice, twice with salt and pepper. By the time I'm done, I can't see the bird anymore.

This usually works out well for everything except salt. I usually end up adding a little more salt after I add the dumplings. But, it's easier to add than to take out. The Worcestershire sauce is usually a couple good shakes from the bottle.

No, potatoes aren't necessary. I wanted to use these up because they were starting to get a little soft and sprout. The onions are a good idea, but also not necessary. Some people put carrots, peas, and other veggies in their chicken and dumplings. At that point it seems to be to be more like rustic chicken soup than chicken and dumplings. Yes, I know that is splitting hairs. I am a purist. Hush!

I prefer to put my onions in from the very beginning so they cook down really soft, add flavor, and somewhat disappear in the cooking. The potatoes sort of helped thicken the broth. My chicken and dumplings have more of a broth-like sauce than a gravy. If you want gravy style, I'll get to that in a minute.

Cover it with water. Clap a lid on it, turn it up to med-high and forget about it for a little while. It's going to take that bad boy a while to reach a boil. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat so it won't boil over and forget about it again for a couple hours. When you check on it, take a fork or something and move the bird around by it's leg. If the bone slides out, it is safe to say the bird is fully cooked and ready to be deboned. You don't have to technically cook it that long, but it makes the broth richer. It is also easier to pull the meat off the bones if it's falling off on its own.

Use whatever means is necessary to get the chicken out of the pot and into a bowl where it can cool. Turn the heat off for now. You don't want your broth boiling down too far.
Let the bird cool enough to handle safely, then pull the meat off and put it back in the pot. The bones and skin can be saved to make stock out of.

Now comes the dumplings.

Mix your cup of water with your two cups of flour and squish. The more you squish, the chewier your dumplings are. If you want them light and fluffy, don't squish them much after the flour and water are incorporated. If you want them chewy, work in more flour and knead it till it's starts to feel rubbery and dry. (That's how I like mine.)

Bring your pot of broth and meat back to a rapid boil.

Remember, the dumplings will swell when they cook, so don't make them too big. If you decide to drop them, just pull off balls of dough and drop it in the boiling broth. If you want classic square dumplings, roll them out and cut them into rectangles or squares.

Today, I pinched dough off in balls and just squished it out in my hands. It's way less messy than rolling them out on a floured counter top.

I don't have very large hands. I guess they're average. But anyway, that gives you an idea of about the size of the dumpling before being cooked.

It only takes them a few seconds to cook, so about the time you've dropped it in it's done. Drop them in one by one so they don't stick together.
When you've dropped the last one in, you can turn the heat off and it's ready to eat.

If you want thicker gravy style broth, BEFORE you put in your dumplings, get a small bowl and put a few tablespoons of flour in it. (I say a few, 3-5, possibly even more depending on how thick you want your broth.) Get some of the hot broth and mix it into the flour until it is a thin paste. Pour the flour paste into the pot and stir it around well. It will thicken up as it boils. Now you can add your dumplings.

Enjoy!

Make your own: Laundry Soap

2011-12-05T11:01:00.001-06:00

I snagged this from Rey at The Peasant and the Pea. So, it's been tried out by someone I personally know and trust. She got the recipe originally from Tip Nut, I believe. Anyways, all the materials cost about $8 (give or take depending on where you shop and what you buy.)

Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent

2 quarts of water

4 cups grated bar soap

4 cups Borax

4 cups Washing Soda *washing NOT baking*

4 gallons of water

A clean 5 gallon bucket with a lid.

That does not say four bars of grated soap. It says four cups of grated bar soap. There is a fundamental difference. It only took me two and a half bars of Ivory to get my four cups of grated soap. I grated it with a very fine cheese grater.

My first question to Rey was: What the hell is washing soda and where the hell do you find it? Wal-mart apparently, and possibly the drug store, or you might have to check online. Wal-mart had it where I live in Central Texas, but they only had Arm & Hammer. I would've rather had an off label, but such is life. Borax is also something that you don't always encounter, but at least I knew what that was from my Gramma. I was also able to find it at Wal-mart. You usually find both of these ingredients near the Oxy-Clean or other laundry boosters.

I still have a good portion of each box left, though I am not sure if I have quite enough for a full second batch. I would say you can get at least one and a half batches out of each box, thus reducing the actual total cost of each batch.

Heat your 2 quarts of water to a simmer, and slowly --- very slowly --- add in your grated soap. I was using a rubber spatula to stir, and I used the rubber spatula to scoop up some soap and stir it in. Once all the first scoop of soap was dissolved, then I got another scoop. Rey discovered the hard way that if you dump all the soap in at once it melts into a lump, and you have to stir forever to melt it down. I think the total scoop/stir/melt process only took about 20 minutes. If that.

Dump your hot soapy water into your bucket, and add the Borax and Soda. Stir until it is as dissolved as it is going to get. The 4 gallons of water I added in 2 quart batches. The water needs to be hot-ish in order to dissolve everything, so I used my sauce pot and heated it up on the stove while I stirred what was already in the bucket. Not to boiling, just hotter than tap water. Stir, stir, stir. Everything will eventually get mostly dissolved. Clap the lid on it and put it by your washer. Use 1/4 c per load. Stir before each time you use it, because even though we stirred it well, solids will settle.

I got a stick from the yard for a stirrer after the water got too deep for my spatula, that way I wouldn't have to dedicate a kitchen utensil to the laundry.

Five gallons of laundry soap for less than $8. It lasted Rey (who has a family of four) for several months. She crunched the numbers over on her blog, and the results were about half as much as buying Sun laundry detergent, which is one of the cheapest ones. You can make it smell prettier by adding essential oils or soap scents (purchasable from most hobby and craft shops) if you like.

You can use the same recipe, only without the water, for a powdered detergent, but I like liquid for rinsing cleaner.

The Turning of the Year: Thoughts about the Holidays

2011-11-28T10:26:00.001-06:00

http://pyratekirk.newgrounds.com/

There's been a lot of talk about Christmas round these parts lately. The reason for the season, Santa Claus, trees, etc. There's so much conflict over this particular holiday. It, quite frankly, cracks me up. People will believe anything at all if enough people tell it to them, or if they are told the same thing over and over enough times.

Why do we think Jesus's birthday is at the end of December? Well, because the church says so, right? It's just always been that way, right? Baaaaa Baaaaaaa Good sheep. Now go read your bible and tell me whether or not logic dictates that December 25th is the most reasonable time to plug his birthday into the calendar. Mary and Joseph were on their way to pay their taxes, right? Right. Now, way back when in the days of long ago and far away, when was tax season? It wouldn't likely have been in the middle of winter. Taxes were often paid in stuff, not coin. First harvest, first product of the flocks, or the stuff created after harvesting has been completed, which would mean a spring - early summer time frame. Midwinter is just illogical.

Do you know why we have "Christmas" in midwinter right around the time of the solstice? Because that's when the Sun/Son is reborn into the world. The longest, darkest night of the year. Traditionally people would stay up all night, with candles lit, yule logs burning in the fire place, singing songs, telling tales, and praying that light would come back to the world so they could have another year of crops and critters. The earth based wheel of the year is agriculturally based. The Christian cycle of holidays mirrors the pagan cycle on purpose. The christians, while attempting to supersede the pagans' beliefs, took over the heathen holidays and made up stuff to justify them. Michaelmas, Candlemas, Pentacost, Christmas, Easter...

And how about this modern take on midwinter? What's up with the presents, and the stress, and the rush-rush-rush? I was told that we give and receive presents on Christmas because the Magi brought presents to baby Jesus. Mmmkay... I don't buy it. I think our capitalist culture just wanted another way to goad loads of people into spending more money than they ought to yet another day out of the year. I have the same skeptical feelings about Valentine's day.

People shouldn't feel like it's required to give presents. If you like it and it makes you happy, then by all means go for it. But don't overtax yourself. Don't break the bank. Don't feel like it's an absolute necessity just to keep in people's good graces. If someone wants to be offended that badly because they didn't get a present on some trumped up holiday, then they apparently have ulterior motives for keeping you around. That includes family. If someone loves you, then they will love your company, or the knowledge that you were thinking of them. They'll love a small token (like a letter or a phone call) just as much as they would love a present and possibly even more than some present that you went out and bought just because you felt like you had to because "it's Christmas".

Holidays should be spent doing what you enjoy with people you enjoy being with. Behaving differently just because it's supposed to be a special day does not fly in my book. If I don't like you the other 364 days a year, chances are I don't like you on Christmas either. If I want to give you a present, I can just as easily do it any other day of the year and vice versa. Yes, I do give Christmas presents, and I like doing it. But no, I do not go out and rack my brains and my bank account trying to find something for everyone. I do what I can with what I've got, and assume it will be enough because of the love that goes with it. Not how big the price tag is.

I do admit to having a bit of a blind spot when it comes to kids, though. Christmas is a holiday that can be filled with all kinds of magic and memories for children. Find ways to make the magic happen and make the memories happen. That doesn't mean take out a personal loan so that you can afford that state of the art toy that just came out. Make special treats that only get made once a year. Sing songs. Play games. Make decorations. They'll remember that a lot longer than they'll remember what presents they got.

Thanksgiving - and a few related recipes

2011-11-28T09:22:00.001-06:00

First, just a small aside about the holidays. I am not a fan of holidays. No, really, I'm not. They're too much headache, too much stress, too much running around in circles, and not enough down time, enjoying family and friends, and reconnecting with loved ones. Thanksgiving is my hands down favorite holiday all year. They've tried really hard to commercialize it with Black Friday, but the holiday itself is still today what I remember it from being a little kid. FOOD!!! Lots and lots of good food shared with good friends and close family. No greeting cards, no presents, no mandatory decorations, just the good stuff.

This year was the first year I've really done a lot of cooking for Thanksgiving. Until this year, the only things I'd made at Thanksgiving were pumpkin pie and pumpkin mousse. This year, on the other hand, I did a turkey, broccoli casserole, mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, buttermilk pie, banana cream pie, pumpkin pie, and sweet potato casserole. My neighbor made puppy chow, dressing, corn, green bean casserole, and a spaghetti squash, and another friend brought a chocolate pudding cake that was (still is actually, half of the cake is still on my table) excellent!

Fin cleaning up after our puppy chow adventure. Who knew that chocolate, peanut butter, powdered sugar, and chex would be quite so awesome? Messily fabulous lol!

The turkey!!! This turkey turned out so good. I was really happily surprised. Turkey is usually so dry and bland. I'd much rather have a goose or a duck. Even better would be a venison roast. But, cram a pound of sausage mixed with minced onion, bread crumbs, and spices under the skin (not in the cavity), and wrap that booger with bacon. It'll be a juicy bird. Yes, I know, your arteries are hardening just looking at it. But it's only once a year!

I also discovered that I can make my own powdered sugar. The only thing I needed powdered sugar for was whipped cream. I don't like CoolWhip. The stuff is an abomination. To make your own whipped cream you just need:
whipping cream
powdered sugar
vanilla

Use about half as much cream as you want volume of whipped cream, and make sure you use a bowl that is bigger than the amount of whipped cream you hope to have. Turn on your mixer and watch the cream grow! Put in however much powdered sugar gets the whipped cream as sweet as you want it, and add a dash of vanilla. Add the sugar and vanilla while you're whipping the cream. Ta-da! Easy peasy.

To make your own powdered sugar, just put it in the blender, food processor, spice grinder, coffee mill, whatever you have that has spinning blades. 1c sugar = 1c powdered sugar. You can even grind it to your own specifications.

B was excited, lol. Everyone was excited. Fin and I were cooking for two straight days.

After we finished eating, the midgets got turned lose in the yard. It was close to 80 degrees that day, so we just ate outside.

Fin is being sad panda because she was so excited to eat, we were all so hungry, she ate less than half her plate and was stuffed.

It's hard to tell, but the expression n B's face is overstuffed misery. Pup was slightly less miserable, and the kids were just pinging from sugar and disrupted schedules.

It was fun, and I am definitely going to be looking forward to next year, though Fin and I have agreed that we will try to scale the food down some. We made way too much for our small gathering.
I've already started my turkey carcass boiling for 10 day Turkey Soup, and have a container of leftovers in the freezer that is ear marked for said soup.

10 Day Turkey Soup takes ... you guessed it: 10 days.

This is going to sound gross, but I promise it isn't. Take the carcass and break it up so it fits in your largest soup pot. Pour in any leftover stock, drippings, etc., and then cover the carcass with water. Bring it to a rapid boil for at least 10 minutes, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and let it simmer all day. Turn it off before you go to bed. In the morning, bring the water level back up if necessary, and repeat. No, I didn't forget to tell you to put it in the fridge. Who has room for a stock pot in their fridge for 10 days? Every morning, when you bring it back to a boil for 10 minutes, you're pasteurizing it. Repeat this for 9 days. Before you turn the heat back on on day 10, sift out any bones, skin, etc. that might still be solid. Add in the leftovers that haven't been eaten. Everything. Dressing, turkey, veggies, mashed potatoes, (I don't recommend adding sweet potato casserole), even cranberry sauce or jelly. Bring it to a nice boil, turn it down and let it simmer all day. Really watch it today (stirring, checking water levels), because the starches sometimes settle to the bottom and want to burn.

And now you have 10 Day Turkey Soup. Or, if you don't want to throw all the leftovers in, you can freeze the stock in batches. It's wonderfully rich and flavorful.

Fall Favorites: Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

2011-11-22T06:55:00.001-06:00

What goes better with gray, chilly, drizzly weather than a hot bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich? Not much, other than maybe a hot bowl of homemade tomato soup, and a grilled cheese sandwich with real cheese on it instead of that processed yellow "cheese food" stuff we call American Cheese. Isn't that just a testament to our times? The quick processed, unidentifiable ingredients, imitation colored "cheese" is American cheese. We're too impatient to take the time to actually make cheese. Instant gratification and everything is disposable. It irritates the snot out of me.

Anyway, where was I? Tomato soup and grilled cheese, right.

Even if you are one of those who require instant gratification, you can have this dinner in about 20 to 30 minutes.

The recipe I used called for:

1 tsp dried Basil
3 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
3 c chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic (or a tsp minced, or about 1/2 - 3/4 tsp dried)
2 tsp olive oil

Get a pot.
Putt the olive oil in the bottom.
Saute the garlic till it's fragrant.
Throw everything else in the pot, bring it to a boil, turn it down, and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.

You can leave it at that, or you can put the soup in a blender and puree it to get a smoother consistency. Too easy! If you don't want to use canned, you don't have to. Stewing tomatoes couldn't be easier.

Get a few tomatoes, put them in a pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. When the skin starts to blister, turn off the heat. At this point I rinse my tomatoes in cold water. It seems to encourage blistering, and it'll keep them from continuing to cook from their own internal heat. The skins peel right off (I personally don't like cooked tomato skins. They're tough and awkward.), or you can leave them on. Dice them up, and ta da! Diced stewed tomatoes. I recommend doing the dicing in a bowl, otherwise you lose all your juices.

Some changes I plan to make to the recipe - The soup is bland. Yes I know, tomato soup isn't exactly a riot of flavors in your mouth. The store bought stuff honestly tastes about as spectacular as ketchup. (ick) But it doesn't have to be boring! Next time, I am adding some onion 1/4-1/2. I think a whole onion would be a little much for this size pot of soup. Or maybe I'll double the amount, use a whole onion, and freeze some for later. I'd also put in a shake or two of tobasco sauce, or a dash or two of red pepper. It also needs a touch more salt (for my taste). A bay leaf would be good, too.

But wait! I forgot the grilled cheese. I often make the (inaccurate) assumption that everyone has at least the basics. I consider grilled cheese a basic. It's as basic as scrambling eggs. I was three or four years old when I started learning how to scramble eggs and grill sandwiches, and I often just imagine that's how everyone does it. I am most often very mistaken, and I have to remind myself of this constantly.

Grilled Cheese:

Butter (you can use margarine, but I don't recommend vegetable oil or shortening. It just doesn't taste good and seems to leave the sandwich much greasier)
Bread
Cheese - any kind of cheese will work. Have fun with it, combine several cheeses, make a pizza grilled cheese with pepperoni on it. Shredded cheese doesn't work out as well, though, because it becomes a mess when you try to turn the sandwich over.

Heat a skillet over medium heat for a few minutes, drop in a small pat of butter or margarine (just enough to coat the skillet. You're not trying to deep fry your grilled cheese).

I usually assemble my first sandwich while the skillet is heating up.

Set the sandwich in the skillet and wait. Patiently. Don't constantly flip it over and over, because all that does is make your sandwich soggy and greasy, not toasted. When the bottom of the sandwich is nice and toasty brown, flip it over carefully so you don't end up with your cheese spilled into the skillet.
Wait... patiently. When the other side of the sandwich is nice and toasty brown, put it on a plate and enjoy! I love to dunk my grilled cheese into my tomato soup. It's so yummy!!

Grilled sandwiches aren't limited to cheeses (obviously). If you want to put other stuff in there, go ahead and try it out. Put a fried egg in there, and have a grilled ham, egg, and cheese. Try different combinations of cheeses. Sprinkle your bread with garlic before you grill it, and put mozzarella cheese in it. It'll be like cheese sticks with marinara sauce when you dunk it in your tomato soup.

I have to stop now. I am getting hungry, and I just had breakfast.

Pålt and Goulash

2011-11-20T13:37:00.001-06:00

You're probably thinking ~what the hell is Pålt? Most people know what goulash is, if not you'll know that by the end of this post as well.

I had the good fortune to be able to take a trip to Sweden back in 2000. There is a wonderful family there that made me and my friends feel like we were family, too. We had a wonderful time, with wonderful food, wonderful drinks, and wonderful company. Pålt is just one of those wonderful memories. They're yet another dumpling. Every culture has to have a dumpling. They're super cheap, very filling, good old fashioned comfort food. In Sweden they're primarily made with potatoes.

I honestly don't know if my pålt is the same as Mama Lundqvist's, but they tasted good and made me happy.

You will need:
Potatoes
Flour
Salt
and very salty pork - or other yummy filling that isn't going to put a lot of extra moisture into the dumpling (optional)

a large pot of salted water, boiling

I don't have measurements for this, because... well... that's just how I roll. Wait till I post my buttermilk biscuit recipe!

Boil the potatoes until they're tender enough to put a fork in easily, but not falling apart. Pull them out of the water and let them cool enough to handle. Pull the skins off, then grate them. Don't use the smallest holes in the grater. You want fine strands of potato, not mush. (although you can make these with leftover mashed potatoes, I don't think it tastes the same)

Measure your potatoes now. However much you wound up with, use half as much flour. (i.e. if you have two cups of shredded spuds, use a cup of flour.) This is a rule of thumb, and your experience may differ. If the dough is too sticky, knead in a little more flour. If it's too dry and stiff, put a bit of water in it. You want it to be soft enough to mould, but not so soft it falls apart when you cook it.

If you are using salty pork (this is how Mama made it for us), make sure it's fully cooked, and as you roll the dumplings into balls, poke two fingers in and stuff about a Tbs of salty pork goodness into each dumpling, then roll it tightly closed. Any type of filling could probably work. I want to make them with cheese!

If you aren't using filling, just roll the dough into balls.

Drop the dumplings into the boiling water for 20-ish minutes. They float when they're done.

For goulash you will need:

meat
onions
bell pepper
broth or bullion
seasonings as you like

Goulash is one of those fabulous things like kitchen sink soup. Every country has a different idea of what goulash should be. That idea reflects the tastes of the culture. There are no rules.

The goulash recipe I used was Hungarian. It called for some spices I happened to not have (I think it was caraway seeds). *shrugs* I was completely surprised that my spice cabinet was lacking. I normally have anything and everything you could possibly want in there. I'm a spice fiend. I love the stuff.

Anyway... So there aren't really any rules. Do what you love, spice it how you like.

I browned the meat with a little butter, tossed it in a soup pot.
In the drippings, I cooked the onions and bell pepper till they were soft, then tossed in some minced garlic. That went in the soup pot, too, along with the remaining drippings.
I put a couple of cups of beef broth in there, and let it simmer till the meat was tender.
I seasoned it with salt, turmeric, tarragon, and I think I put some cayenne pepper in there.

The other side you see in the picture is a cauliflower and carrot casserole that was absolutely abysmal. Totally disgusting (in the opinion of everyone in the house, so I am not being hyper critical here.) I was able to save it later, with some chicken, cream of mushroom soup, and a lot more time in the oven. But, I won't be using that recipe ever again.

The pålt and goulash, however, were totally awesome and will be done again.

Late Halloween, and a little update

2011-11-12T20:32:00.001-06:00

Remember those coffee cans I turned into canisters? A bit of an update on those. First off -- don't spray paint bendy plastic lids. Bad mojo. Apparently acrylic paint works just fin, because I used it on an ice cream bucket. But spray paint is more brittle, and the paint flakes off really fast. Painting the inner circle of the lid, like where a label would go, would work out perfect. I also found that with the creative use of a pastry tamper 5 lbs of flour will fit in a 36 oz coffee can.

Fin insisted on carving pumpkins for Halloween. I've never carved a pumpkin before. Well, let me amend that. I attempted to carve a pumpkin once around the age of 14. It ended with a fountain of blood (literally, I severed an artery), a trip to the ER, several stitches, and a wide berth around the pumpkin patch thereafter. But, she was all little kid excited, and it was kind of contagious. She also had a pumpkin carving kit that has these itty bitty little blunt saw blades in it. I felt like it would be very difficult for me to have a repeat performance with something so harmless.

I was right :-P The pumpkin on the left is mine, the one on the right is Fin's :-) It was fun, and I think I might carve a pumpkin next year without prodding LOL.

A side effect of pumpkin carving is pumpkin seeds. Elise at Simply Recipes has a recipe for Roasted Pumpkin Seeds. I mostly followed her recipe. I did the boiling in the salt thing, and the baking thing. But before I baked them I drizzled lime juice all over them then dusted them with chili powder. The idea was chili lime flavored nuts. It didn't work out quite as intended, because the lime juice didn't hold it's flavor after roasting. They were very good, nonetheless. B actually LIKES THEM!!!!

He hates pumpkins. He hates the smell. He hates the feel. He hates the taste. Blah blah blah. The boy has a serious prejudice against squashes of all varieties. I have tricked him into eating them several times (squash), and on most of those occasions he has had NO clue. So I bullied him into tasting the seeds. He actually eats the whole things. I insist on shelling them. The shells take way too much time to chew satisfactorily, but I do like to suck the chili pepper off the outsides first.

All of this was accomplished before Halloween.

Halloween night, we were supposed to go trick-or-treating with Fin, Fin's midget, and the Pup. That kind of fell through when it took B over 2 hours to paint my face. But he really did an awesome job with the face painting, and it was fun for both of us. We ended up finishing up right about the time trick-or-treat ended, so we went to dinner. Ironically, we went to Red Lobster. I was tempted to order a can of tuna LOL.

I think B did a great job with my makeup. My face is still breaking out from all that grease paint, but it was fun. The silly grin kind of ruins the effect of the makeup. It looks better with my mouth closed, but then you couldn't see my super cute vampire fangs turned kitty teeth.

Fin was a pretty kitty, too. She had some ballet flats that she painted black and gold tiger stripes, and some adorable kitty ears that she made, but this was post trekking all over housing , so she was pooped.

I bought the dress, but I already had the petticoat. I made the leggings, mittens, and tail (the tail is actually on my lap there under my paw). I made an ear, too, but it didn't work right in combination with the hat, so I left the ear off. I've still got it, as well as all the other bits of my costume. It may either get worn again, or get reincarnated into a new idea next year.