The Leet Mitten

Watermelon Lemonade

2011-02-24T06:00:00.000-06:00

As the weather warms up (temporarily at least), some sweet crisp tastes of summer are just the thing you need to get in the mood for summer.

Last weekend, my sister and some friends threw me a lovely bridal shower. The food was delicious. Happy guests devoured crudités, curried chicken salad, mini grilled cheese sandwiches with bacon, sausage rolls, and homemade currant and ginger scones with...

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Bacon Jam

2011-02-23T06:00:00.000-06:00

If you are to make one thing on this blog, make it this. This is THE most delicious, savory, sweet thing I have ever had the joy of cooking. It goes good on toast, burgers, hash browns, and even bacon. Go make this. Right now. GO.

The taste of this jam is truly outrageous. Each bite contains layer upon layer of flavor, from the caramelized onions and garlic; to the sweet bourbon and maple syrup; to the smoky, salty, porky bacon. Try it on toast, in place of mayonnaise in a sandwich, or slathered on pancakes. It will keep for a month in the fridge.

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Masala Chai

2011-02-22T06:00:00.000-06:00

Chai is a drink that is enjoyable hot in the winter and cold in the summer. Syrups like this one are easy enough to make and are delicious. While this isn't my favorite recipe, it's still very good..

"One of the best things about my hometown is the rich Indian culture brought over by a wonderfully large population of Punjabi immigrants.

In rural California, I was able to grow up with the flavors of spiced samosas, pakoras and..."

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Home Brew Hard Cider

2011-02-21T06:00:00.002-06:00

Me and a friend recently found the joys of hard cider (not unpalatable like most beers, just the right balance between sweet and tart, with around 5% ABV to boot!) and no sooner do we finish a $10 six pack(!) of bottles than do I StumbleUpon this step by step how to of making your own cider. Just missed apple season too, for shame.

Now that it's fall and the apples are ripe in my neck of the woods (New Hampshire), I thought I'd share a recipe for home brew hard cider. It's a very simple first-time home brew and it's very rewarding. I've never liked the taste of beer or any other alcohol for that matter, but a good cider is hard not to like.

Firstly, this Instructable will explain the process for producing all natural, organic, 100% hand made hard cider

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Homemade Poptarts

2011-02-10T10:00:00.000-06:00

It's beyond me how you could beat the delicious sugaryness of foil wrapped frosted strawberry pop tarts, but these are pretty damn good! Crimped dough (pop tarts, ravioli, dumplings etc.) is hard to get right, but it's soooo worth it! Mmm!

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Monkey Fist

2011-02-09T10:00:00.000-06:00

My Works of Art

Working at a firework stand this past summer, I spent my lunch hour making stuff out of para cord. Nets for my Nalgene bottles, lanyards, and my favorite, monkey fist key chains. To make a monkey fist you had to understand how the knot worked, know what line to pull and when, to get it just rightly snug around the marble, rock, or whatever you used to fill the middle. A couple people offered to buy them, but I just gave them away because hey, what am I gonna do with like fifteen key chains?

This is one of the most thorough breakthroughs for making one. The step by step instructions are clear, clean, and easy to understand.

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Moonshine

2011-02-08T10:00:00.000-06:00

I've tried making my own wine out of grape juice and bakers yeast (YUCK!), but never tried distilling any of my own liquor.

"And add one heaping tablespoon of yeast per gallon of water. Stir vigorously, and add to your fermentation containers. seal the containers with the rubber stoppers, and run the aquarium tubing from the stoppers to the small bottle full of water to produce an airlock. The setup should look something like this:"

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Foundry Fun

2011-02-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

As a kid (13-15 y/o) I found some articles online about how to make your own "coffee can foundry." Me and a friend spent our summer afternoons melting down old soda cans and miscellaneous aluminum parts using nothing more than a a coffee can (modified with holes in the bottom), a few bricks (to let air in under the coffee can), charcoal briquettes, a steel soup can (as a crucible), and most importantly, a hair dryer (to get those coals nice and hot!) We probably went through 50 pounds of aluminum, casting our names out in the dirt.

This guy took the same premise and make it ten times more awesome. He uses furnace cement to insulate his propane burner powered foundries. Most of it is old (circa 2001~) but it caught my eye. Besides melting scrap, he does a lot with metal working and other workshop activities. Neat.

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Napolitan Limoncello

2011-02-06T10:00:00.000-06:00

My parents tried making some of this years ago using vodka. I helped them toil over peeling the lemons just right, no pith. After 10 days of waiting for it to stew, they tried it. They declared it "deceivingly sweet." After three or four small glassfuls, they were tipsy. They threw away(!) around a gallon of delicious lemon liquor. For shame. Anyway, this recipe looks more promising. Enjoy.

"Let me begin this post by confessing this is not my family’s recipe. Nearly a decade ago, I traveled to Pozzuoli, Italy (just outside of Naples) to attend the wedding of my friends Luigi and Giusy. After dinner at Giusy’s parents’ house one evening, her father, Paolo, treated me to a special digestivo — his homemade limoncello. Napolitans are very proud of their limoncello, as well they should be. In addition to the commercially available liqueur..."

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How to Make a Tiny Terrarium in a Light Bulb

2011-02-05T16:30:00.000-06:00

I've always liked these little terrariums, this guide is one of the best I've seen.

"Let’s get started! We’re going to go through the steps to create your very own little terrarium. I like building terrariums inside of lightbulbs because of the inherent challenge of working in such a small space as well as how the simple, industrial beauty of a light bulb complements the intricacy of natural elements. (I was inspired to try this out after seeing this post on Apartment Therapy a couple of months ago.)"

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