On Kitchen Gadgets

For Spring Break, our family went to Arizona. It was the first time for me and the kids, while my husband hasn't been there since he was a kid, so it was like the first time for him, too.  We were visiting my folks, who escape Minnesota's harsh winters by staying down there for a few months each year.  And, given the cold (at least for Virginia) winter we'd had, it was nice to be in someplace warm for a couple of days. Also, my youngest son had to do a "Flat Stanley" project, so this would definitely get him further away than the East Coast. :-) It was a winning prospect all around!

Here are a few photos from the trip:

Cactus-filled vistas

Old Spanish Mission

Eating dried crickets. Supposedly they were sour cream and onion flavored, but I just tasted crunchiness.  This kid won't eat cooked carrots, but he's game to try crickets. I don't get it.

 I'm sure you're saying, "Yes, Marna, that's a lovely travelogue, but what does this have to do with kitchen gadgets?" Well, I'm getting to that.

The first night we were there, my mom presented me with a few items she picked up for me at some local kitchen store. While I definitely appreciated the sentiment, in my head I was thinking, "I am NOT a gadget person." Really, mom, cannoli forms? The things I buy tend to be multi-purpose items, as I can't stand rummaging around in a drawer full of unused gadgets to get to the one or two that I actually use.  Mom offered to take me to the store, in case there was something else I wanted instead, and I readily agreed. While I don't generally buy gadgets, I do like nosing around kitchen supply stores. So much kitchen-y stuff! And spices! And dishes! And....All of it!

So, we went down to Tuma Cookery, in Tubac, Arizona (the little shopping plaza is pictured above). It was a lovely store, with an impressive variety of items. I am sad that I didn't buy one of their mole spice mixes, but I did come home with a great gadget that I've already used a number of times since we came back. I actually did get a couple of other items, too, that we had been needing, including a jar opener, which I have also used. The leaf stripper, however, has changed my life! Okay, maybe not changed my life, but it has definitely made some tedious tasks much less so. It's a Chef'n Kale, Chard, Collard Greens and Herb Stripper. An accurate, if inelegant, name for this tool.

Here's some video of me using it (my son took the video from my phone, so it's not the greatest quality):

Y'all, it's awesome! It just zips off thyme leaves like nothing, and pulling the leaves off of kale is super easy now! Since my youngest son likes kale chips, I'll be more inclined to make them now. Before, it was such a pain to pull all the leaves off the stems, but now I don't even mind it! So awesome!! Plus, it doesn't take up much room in my drawer. There is no down side to this product!  Like I said, I am not a gadget person, but when I do find something that I think will help people in the kitchen, I will spread the good news! Get yourselves one of these little gems!  Oh, and I did keep the cannoli forms...What can I say? I'm weak.  :-)

Snow Day Bonus: Loafin' Around

Yesterday, we got almost 10 inches of snow, and this morning we had a record low recorded at the airport near our house. The kids have been in school exactly 2 days this week, and it seems as if they haven't been in school a full week since January. It's been rough.








This is what it looked like outside out house yesterday morning. It snowed for another 3 hours after this.

You would think that with this forced indoors activity, I would be wildly productive, but you would be wrong. I do have lovely, uncalloused heels (home pedicures each week) and have gotten sucked into reruns of Supernatural. I keep telling myself that I'll just watch to see if Dean actually goes to hell or if they figure out a way to get him out of his contract with the demon, Lillith. Like I said, it's been rough.

Previous years, I would have been doing a lot of baking, but in an attempt to not gain a bazillion pounds each winter, I have tried not to bake as much. That control ended yesterday when I went on a baking binge. All carbs all day, people.

I did not make anything original, but I had been saving a couple of these recipes for a while to try out. The top loaf is a Chocolate-Coconut Poundcake from Bon Appetit. As pretty as it looks, it was amazingly easy, and contains coconut oil, which makes it almost healthy (not really). The middle loaf (the recipe actually makes 2 loaves) is Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread. The one I was really excited about was the bottom loaf, Rustic Chocolate Chip Tea Bread. I saw it in yesterday's Washington Post. It's tasty and quite easy to make, using one bowl and a liquid measuring cup. The kids loved it and were a little disappointed that my friends ate the rest of the loaf when they came over for an impromptu happy hour last night. I promised to make more soon -- it's that easy!

Hope it is warm and sunny where you are, and if it's not, pray for spring to some soon!

Cheers!

Meatless Mondays

First off, I know I am not posting this on a Monday, but maybe posting it in time for YOU to make for your next "Meatless Monday!" So don't mock me. I had posted a picture on Facebook about this, and people were asking for the recipe, so I didn't want to wait until Monday.

I have been looking for ways to eat healthier, for me AND my family. One way to eat healthier is to eat less meat, so I am striving for our family to eat at least two meatless meals each week (I won't even add that it's cheaper and more environmentally friendly oh wait, I just did). I am also, however, trying to eat less refined carbs (flour, sugar), so just trotting out some pasta with tomato sauce isn't going to cut it.

The other day, I came across a recipe for Curried Chick Peas with Spinach. It looked really good, so I thought I would give it a shot. I did, however, tweak it a little, because...well, it's me and I have a hard time following a recipe the way it's written. I did provide the link to the recipe that inspired mine, so feel free to look at both and try the one that you might like the best. Or try both. Let me know which one you preferred. I promise I won't take it personally. LOL

I don't know which is healthier, but I had a bunch of kale, so I swapped that out for the spinach, and I
used dried chick peas (soaked first, of course). I also didn't have any curry powder, but I did have red curry paste, so I used that instead. I added a can of unsweetened coconut milk to it too, just for good measure. So, below, is my version. It came out really well, and even the kids ate it. Confession: Elliot just ate the rice and chick peas, but I still call that a win.  :-)

Soak dried chick peas overnight (I used half of a 16 oz package). Then, you have to boil them in clean water until they are soft. If you skip this step, you will end up cooking the curry for about 45 minutes (don't ask how I know this). Or, you can just use canned.









 Chick Pea Curry with Kale

Ingredients:

1 lb of kale, washed
2 Tbsp. oil, divided (I used olive oil, but coconut oil would be good in this, too)
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 Tbsp chopped ginger
Salt (I use kosher) and pepper
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp red curry paste
2 15 oz cans chick peas, rinsed (or soak dried beans overnight, cook until soft)
1 28 oz can of whole, peeled tomatoes
1 15 oz can of unsweetened coconut milk
Steamed rice, for serving

Heat one Tbsp of oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger, cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add kale to the skillet in batches, cooking until bright green and slightly wilted. When cooked, transfer to a food processor. After all the kale has been cooked and transferred to the food processor, pulse in processor to finely chop up the kale. You may have to stop and scrape down the kale a couple of times.

Heat remaining Tbsp of oil in the same skillet you used to cook the kale. Add the onion and saute until translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add red curry paste and stir until paste is fragrant, then add chick peas and tomatoes,with their juices, to the skillet, squeezing the tomatoes to break them up a bit. Cook the chick peas and tomatoes for 10 minutes, then add the kale puree. Cook for 10 minutes more (make sure the tomatoes have cooked down and the chick peas are soft), then add the coconut milk. Heat through until the sauce is smooth and there are no chunky bits from the coconut milk.
















Serve over steamed rice.

This makes a large amount. The four of us had generous portions, and there's probably enough for another night, so let's say this makes 8 servings, but could be stretched further if you serve with more rice. :-)

Weekend Project: Making Butter, No Butter Churn Required

With windchills in the below zero range, this weekend has been perfect for staying inside and keeping warm, which also gave me the opportunity to tackle something new. I saw a recipe/method for making homemade butter, so I thought, "What the heck?" and set out to give it a try.

Now, because you have to buy cream and buttermilk to start out (sadly, our HOA would not allow the keeping of a cow in our yard), I had my doubts about just how cost-effective this might be. With that in mind, I decided to cut the recipe in half, in case it didn't turn out, so I would at least  still have useable cream and buttermilk. With those caveats, I threw caution and concern for botulism to the wind and started out on this kitchen experiment. Better living through chemistry and all that.

The recipe I used was from Southern Living. I couldn't find the recipe online, but it might not be posted yet, since it's still the current issue. Here's a picture of what you'll need:

First, you have to warm the whipping cream to 70 degrees (F), but the directions didn't say if your buttermilk also had to be room temperature or not, so I warmed the cream a little extra (it was warm to the touch) to maybe offset the fact that my buttermilk was still cold. Maybe you could just leave both the whipping cream and buttermilk out overnight before starting the recipe (since "room temperature" is generally accepted to be 68 degrees). But that would make it nearly a 36 hour recipe, and mama ain't got time for that.

So, here's where my concern for food poisoning comes in:

See the condensation on the plastic wrap? The warm mixture sits out on the counter for 24 hours. Plus, the instructions said that I would get better results if I did not use ultra-pasteurized cream, so I'm am still leery. I decide to forge ahead.

After the 24 hour waiting period, it actually looks like what the recipe said it should, thick like pancake batter. Mine was a little thicker, so I don't know if that is good or bad, but I'm just happy things are proceeding pretty much as they should!

Next, you put the mixture in the food processor and process for 5-8 minutes, until bits of solids form. It doesn't say what blade to use, so I just used the plastic mixing blade, figuring I don't want to cut up the small bits. So, after about 7 minutes, here's what I got:

I'm starting to get pretty excited now, so I move on to the next step, which is to strain out the solids from the liquid (which is lovely buttermilk! Two products in one recipe!).

The butter is pretty soft, so I don't want to press it too much, but I gingerly press down to get more of the liquid out.  Then comes the not-so-fun part: the ice bath.

You are supposed to knead it in ice water and keep changing the water until it stays clean. I am telling you that the ice water was the worst part. My hand got painfully cold, so I don't know if I got it perfectly "clean," but I wasn't doing more than three rounds of that stuff.

Here's the first round:

Here's the third:

Relatively clear water, I would say. Finally, you are supposed to knead a little salt into it, which I did, but next time I might just leave it out, because I thought it was too salty, even though it was just 1/4 teaspoon.  For 2 cups of whipping cream and 1/2 cup of butter milk, you get just over 1/4 pound of butter and about 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk.

 Here's the final product, wrapped for chilling:

So, here's the big question: Was it worth it?

In terms of the ease of the recipe, sure. It wasn't hard, really, and it went pretty fast after you let it sit for 24 hours, and it's not like you had to babysit it throughout the 24 hours (I'm lookin' at you, croissant dough). In terms of taste, yes, I found it to taste better (tangy, creamy and less waxy, texture-wise) than regular store brand butter, but about on par with French butter (like Plugra).

Cost-wise, let's do the math: The 2 cups of cream was $2.29 and the 1/2 cup of buttermilk was $.22, so for about $2.50, you got 5.5 oz of butter and 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk. When I can get a pound of butter for $2.50, I'm not sure, but if you think of spending $2.79 for spreadable butter (I buy the kind with real butter and canola or olive oil mixed in), it might be worth it. The homemade butter was creamier, plus I knew exactly the ingredients that went into it and the process. I'm not sure I would put the effort in to just use for baking, because I know that Plugra has little water, but I'm not sure I got as much water out of mine, so it I'd worry about my product not being as consistent as commercially-made butter.

Bottom line, I'll let you make those decisions for yourself, but I would probably make this again, especially if I'm making biscuits or bread (there it NOTHING better than butter on freshly made bread). I'm just excited that it actually worked...and I didn't get food poisoning.

New Year, New...Shelves?

Is that a sexy title or what? Shoot. I don't even have a good segue...

As you all know, I am not super crafty, as evidenced by the exactly 1 craft post that is currently on this blog. However, I am really excited about the shelves I put together for our "beverage center", and by "I" I mean my husband and I. I was the creative genius, he was my "implementer", so to speak. Anyway, I think they turned out really well and totally fit in to the "industrial farmhouse" vibe we are going for. Note: I didn't know that was what it was called, but apparently my more decorating-trend-savvy friends pegged the look.  :-)

While not exactly cheap to put together (I spent $90 on supplies, not including the wood, which we had in the garage), they look really cool:

They weren't that hard to make, once I figured out what I needed, so let me walk you through the process, and save you the hour I spent at Home Depot figuring out sizes and lengths and numbers of each item needed.

Supplies needed for each shelf you want to make:

4 -- 1/2 inch floor flanges (I used black steel for these)
2 -- 1/2 inch 90 degree elbows
4 -- 1/2 inch X 2 inch steel pipe nipples (yeah, I know. I laugh every time I see the label, too)
8 -- #10 X 1/2 inch screws
8 -- #6-32 X 1 1/2 inch hollow wall anchors


First, using 2 of the flanges, 2 of the nipples and one of the elbows for each bracket, screw the pieces together  like so:

Tip: It's a little tricky screwing them together so that the flanges are level and straight. It might take a few tries.

Here's a photo of the screws and anchors, in case my written descriptions were less than understandable: 

In terms of shelves, I guess they could be as long as you wanted (these are pretty hefty brackets), but because they are heavy, you want to be careful of what you put on them, especially if they are not attached to studs when you mount them. We had some extra wood that was actually perfect in terms of width and length, so I didn't even need to trim them, but what I did not realize until my husband started to put them up is that the corners weren't exactly square. What can I say? I'm more the creative type, not as concerned with details of implementation. Luckily, my husband is, so he made it work. Here's how the hanging of the shelves progressed:

Because the brackets weren't 100% level (hence my warning tip at the beginning) we (my husband) thought it would be better to put the brackets up first, then attach the shelf.

Before you start drilling, hold one of the brackets up into position, then use a pencil to mark the spots where the holes should be drilled.

Another tip: If there is a pocket door behind the wall on which you are hanging the shelves, make sure that 1) your screws/anchors don't impede the path of the door and 2) you keep the door out of the wall (i.e., closed) so that the drill bit doesn't hit it when you are drilling the screws in (learned that one the hard way...)

And there you are! Cool looking shelves.

To paint the wood itself, I just used glossy red spray paint, after first sanding and wiping down the wood. I let the painted wood dry for a couple of days, just to be sure, because I didn't want to take a chance that it would smear on the wall at all.

Let me know what you think! Or if you have any questions. Happy building!!

Crazy Days

I can't believe that a month has gone by between blog posts!  I thought my PTA duties would lighten up a little once we got past the beginning of school, but I was wrong. Really, really wrong.  So, as much I actually like the stuff I'm doing as PTA secretary, it is taking a lot of my free time, which means a little less time to tackle anything complicated for meals. I know, however, that I'm not the only one who is busy, with kids, with work, with STUFF.  Life happens, and keeps happening, but that's no excuse to slap some spaghettios in a bowl and call it dinner (not that I am judging -- I have a couple of cans of it in my pantry, too, but I just call it lunch or a snack for the kids).

My mom, a single mother of three who worked as a nurse, is a great cook, but when we were kids, she didn't have time to do fancy stuff, either.  I distinctly remember her 3-day soups.  She would make a big pot of soup, put it in the fridge, and that's what we would eat for three days.  It was especially useful when we were in high school and coming home at different times.  Whenever we needed to eat, we would just heat up some of that soup!

What do I do when I know a crazy week is coming up?  Riffing off of my mom's three day soup idea, I make a big pot of chili! It's super-versatile.  The first night, you have the chili straight up with all the fixin's: cheese, onions, sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt), cilantro.

Now, you could just freeze the rest and take it out for some other night when you're pressed for time.  I, however, used it another night that same week to make chili-mac, which is spaghetti topped with chili.  I got this idea from a summer I spent in Cincinnatti, a city known for its unique chili (they add cinnamon to it) and how they eat it. They have several different ways to enjoy chili: straight up in a bowl, two-way (with spaghetti), three-way (chili, spaghetti, and cheese), four-way (chili, spaghetti, cheese, and onions) or five-way (chili, spaghetti, cheese, onions, and beans), although, of course, my chili always has beans in it anyway. :-)  Any way you order it, though, it's delicious!  Chili is truly one of my "desert island" foods. I could seriously eat it every day.

There are other ways to use your pot of chili, besides just eating it.  Top it with cornbread batter and made a kind of tamale pie. Here's a recipe from Martha Stewart, but I just use the Jiffy mix in a box when I'm pressed for time.

Another thing you could do with your chili is top a baked potato with it, or a cheese quesadilla (yum!) or make loaded nachos if the chili isn't too soupy. I feel a little like Pvt. Benjamin Buford 'Bubba' Blue from Forrest Gump, but you get the picture!

All of that from one pot of chili!

What are your go-to tips and tricks to get you through an especially crazy week?

The Best Pesto You've Ever Tasted (and Vegan, too!)

We are on our last leg of summer in Virginia, and it's time to gather up any remaining basil left in the garden.  There are so many things you can do to preserve it.  Dry it.  Puree it with some olive oil, put it in ice cube trays, freeze and then use later to flavor soups, stews, pasta sauce.  Or you could make pesto.

My favorite pesto recipe comes from a Sicilian cookbook I got years ago.  The reason it's my favorite is that it adds avocado for an amazing creaminess and richness that blows regular pesto away.  Seriously.  This time, I did a little experimenting and found that you don't even need to add parmesan cheese to it and it's still delicious! You will be tempted to skip the step of soaking the nuts. Don't. I switched that up, too, to make it go a little quicker. I also added a little lemon juice to help keep the bright green color and add a little zing.

This recipe makes quite a bit (about 2 cups) and it's so flavorful you don't need to use a ton for the flavor to come through.  The night I made it, I roasted some veggies (fennel, tomatoes and leeks) and tossed it with some pasta, but I still had some left over.  I spread it on sandwiches (turkey is a great pairing) and crackers (livens up a cup of soup).  It will keep in the fridge for about a week, but it might turn a little brown, given the avocado. Still tastes amazing, though!




Avocado Pesto

 1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup walnuts
1 avocado (I used 1/3, because that's all I had, but it turned out fine)
3 cloves garlic
2 cups fresh basil (loosely packed - and you can use some of the soft stems, but be sure to discard any hard, woody stems)
1/3 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2/3 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup warm water (I use a little of the pasta water before I drain the pasta)


Boil about 2 cups of water (I used an electric kettle and set it to the "tea" setting, which gets it to 175 degrees F), let cool slightly (about 5 minutes), then pour over the almonds and walnuts and set aside.  Peel and pit the avocado.  Peel and chop the garlic. Put avocado, garlic, basil leaves, marjoram, lemon juice, olive oil and salt in the food processor.  Drain the nuts (they should have soaked at least 10 minutes), discard water.  Put the nuts in the food processor. Put the top on the processor and chop everything together, stopping to scrape down the sides of the processor bowl a couple of times.  When everything is chopped very fine, start adding the warm (pasta) water, a little at a time, through the feed tube.  Start with 1/3 cup, then if you need to add more to get a smooth sauce, then add a little more at a time.  This will not be a runny sauce. It will be a little more like a loose paste.

Toss with pasta, use it as a topping for fish or veggies.  Keeps in the refrigerator for about a week.