Italian-Inspired Meatball Soup

I took a basic Italian Wedding Soup recipe, and changed it around just a bit, and made it more user-friendly to my kitchen and pantry.  The meatballs are the stars of the show (Wonderful!), and I usually make this with homemade stock, however, I’m not sure that it is any more healthy than the store-bought canned variety which probably has less fat.  Ah, well.  Oh, those meatballs are really good, you’ll like them!

Ingredients:

6 C chicken stock

1/2 C onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, pressed

1 t. olive oil

1 C frozen spinach (1 1/2 C fresh)

1/2-3/4 C orzo pasta

salt and pepper to season (to taste)

For meatballs:

1/2 lb. ground beef (not too lean, I used 80/20)

1 egg

1/2 C fresh bread crumbs

1 ½ T roasted red pepper, minced

2 T parmesan, finely grated

1/4 t ground black pepper

pinch salt

Method:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees                                                        
• In a bowl mix ground beef, egg, parmesan, bread crumbs, red pepper, salt and pepper with your hand until combined
• Roll into balls that are small and bite sized, about ¾ of an inch in diameter
• Place on baking sheet lined with foil and bake for 12-15 minutes

• Check for doneness, sacrifice one to the taste buds!

• In a stock pot, bring olive oil to medium low heat         
• Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender
• Add chicken stock and frozen spinach
• Bring to a boil, add orzo and cook, stirring, for 9 minutes
• Add meatballs, boil for 2 minutes
• Remove from heat and let sit for 20-30 minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste
• If you are starving, eat now, otherwise continue cooling and serve the next day to allow the flavors to really meet and greet.

Makes 3-4 hearty portions (I always have 2 bowls!)

Steamy hot in the bowl!

Notes you should know:

*Don’t let the meatballs cool too much on the pan, or they will stick to it and tear when you try to remove them.  They do not need to be made of a lighter fat grade because a good deal of it bakes out.

**If you prefer a thicker soup (as I often do) lean towards the 3/4 C end of orzo, if you prefer to have more broth than filling, or even a more equal amount, go with the 1/2 C of orzo.

***If using fresh spinach, add it when you add the meatballs, and cook until limp. 

Best Basic Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

If you are like me, you've tried lots and lots of oatmeal cookie recipes, and haven't been really satisfied with any of them, or they didn't seem like they could hold up to a bit of tweaking, well, this is a fast, easy recipe that tastes great in its most basic form, but its also great simply because of all of the neat things you can do with it…

Add nuts, add chocolate (or any flavor) chips, add chopped dried fruit like dates, apricots, figs, it’s so versatile.  And it makes smaller cookies, about 2 ½ inches diameter, so you can have a handful and it’s not going to hurt you!  Imagine more cookies packed with more of the good stuff, ahhh.

This recipe is for a half batch, frankly, because by the time we are through with this many, we are ready to move on to something else, which means I get to create something else :)

Ingredients:

1 stick margarine

1/2 C brown sugar

1/4 C white sugar

1 egg

1 t vanilla

1 C flour

1/4 + 1/8 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1/2 t cinnamon (optional)

1 1/4 C oats (old fashioned kind)

1 C raisins

To Make:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Either grease cookie pans, or use silicon baking sheets
• Cream margarine and sugars in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer
• Add egg and vanilla, mix until well distributed
• Add baking soda, cinnamon and salt, mix until well distributed
• Add flour, mix
• Add oats and raisins and mix until even throughout
• Drop by the teaspoon onto cookie sheets, about 1 ½ inches apart
• Bake for 12-14 minutes, until they just begin to brown
• Cool for a few minutes on the sheet, then remove to a plate/cooling rack

Nice, eh?  Good lunchtime dessert.  And they are so fast and easy to put together, you’ll be done in time for the oven to finish preheating.  This recipe makes about 4 cookie sheets worth.  While they are fast to make, they are fast to disappear around here as well.

*Versatile recipe, I've made these with cranberries (add a dash of allspice!) or chocolate chips (and white chocolate chips, add a pinch of nutmeg!) before, and have added nuts too, that's what I like about finding good basic recipes--they are so easy to tweak and make into something completely different.

Hummingbird Nectar Recipe and Glass Wind Chime How-To

This is a double-purpose post, since I’ve been stalking the hummingbird feeder off and on this morning to get a picture of the pretty male, and when I finally did, I realized I got the wind chimes in the shot too.  So, today I will share a very easy mix for hummingbird nectar, and how to make that wind chime too.

I just love hummingbirds, and it seems that each one has a different sound made by their wings as they hover about the food.  A split second after I snagged this picture, the male became a victim of a mid air collision by a territorial female.  He flew for cover, making his trademark squeaky laugh along the way.  Aren’t they delightful?

And now, for the simplest mix of hummingbird nectar ever…

Use a 1 to 3 ratio.

That’s it!  One cup of sugar to three cups of water, or to fit our 1 ½ cup capacity feeder, 1 ½ C water with ½ C sugar.  Some people and websites will say that you have to boil the water, then add the sugar to get an even mixture.  This isn’t exactly true.  I think that boiling is more important if you are making a simple sugar mixture to add to a mixed drink (Daiquiri anyone?).  However, you will have to stir a bit longer, maybe one minute total, but you aren’t saddled with the cool-down waiting period either.  We started off adding red food coloring, to entice them even more, but it would only last for a few days, so we stopped wasting our red on it-the birds didn’t care, once they are hooked, they are hooked!

 How to Make Glass Wind Chimes

The wind chime was a time consuming creation, but every time I hear the tinkle of the glass I feel it was worth it.  This was one of my first projects where I discovered (after researching it) how to drill through glass with my Dremmel.  I had a good number of bits and shards of stained glass left over from projects, and my mother had given me some of her pretty ones too, and they were just so bright and cheery, how could I let them sit in a tin?

The process for drilling a small hole through glass is more about patience than anything else.  It is necessary to use water in the glass drilling process, this 1-prevents the drill bit from overheating 2-prevent the glass from splitting 3-traps much of the dust that results.  With this method I was able to successfully drill small holes in pieces of glass very near the edges.

Items required to tackle this project:

            A water bath

            Dremmel with higher speed capability

            Smooth stained glass pieces

            Eye protection

            A set of diamond drill bits

            A permanent marker than can be seen easily on the color of glass you choose

            Paper towels

            Recommended additional items:

            A piece of wood, cut to fit the water bath lengthwise

A piece of felt fabric, to catch and retain dust in the water-improves clarity of working area

First, create your water bath, and situate the piece of wood to fit snuggly from end to end.  This is what you will use for stability when working on each piece.  Get the cloth good and soaked so it stays down below the working area. 

*Be very careful to fill the bath just (only!) to the level barely covering the work area of each piece, press down on the wood support with some pressure to see if it will give and sink a bit when being worked on.  The water need only be barely covering the area that is being worked on.

Empty water bath, wood support in place

Second, mark your glass.  Make sure you examine both sides of where you want to mark, to avoid working in areas where there are chips, cracks (don’t use at all), or other marks of questionable structural integrity.  Mark one side, hold the piece up to the light, looking straight through it even with the eye to mark the other side, this will ensure a straight-through hole, as you will be working both sides.

Third, test water level, again!  Put on safety glasses.  Apply diamond tipped bit.  Check the speeds of the Dremmel to make sure they are functioning safely and correctly.

Fourth, while holding on to the piece of glass with your free hand, apply the Dremmel running at high speed (9 out of 10) to the mark on the glass.  Hold the Dremmel straight up and down, perpendicular to the piece of glass, as you want your hole to be as straight as possible (makes for a prettier, more tidy hole, and is less work/time).  Applying gentle pressure in an on again off again manner, begin to create the hole, drilling at least half way through the glass.  You will see the white glass dust spreading into the water gradually.

*If your glass if very slick, you may want to hold the Dremmel at an angle to get the hole started on your mark, just enough to create a divot of friction to hold it correctly in to place, then angle it straight.

Fifth, about half way through, stop the Dremmel and look at your piece, if need be, make a mental note of where to start drilling from the other side if it no longer matches up with the mark.  Flip the piece and drill from the new side.  Be very careful/gentle/cautious when nearing the first tunnel, too much force may break the piece. 

Finished glass piece

Last, remove piece from water bath, place on paper towel to dry.  Some times, for reasons unknown to me, a piece will turn out beautifully, and while I’m not looking, crack while drying.  If a certain number of pieces of a certain color are what you are aiming for, always plan for a couple of back-ups…just in case.

Over time, the water bath will need refilling, due to the water that is sprayed out from the motion of the drill bit, make sure each time you repeat steps one and three.  Each time, because things have been known to shift, get water logged, etc.

 

Now back to the wind chime.

Once you have your glass drilled, and know how many pieces you want to use, it is time to plan the plate from which it all hangs.  I used a wood plaque from a hobby store.  Plan and measure before you drill.  Use pencil.  And don’t paint until it is all drilled.

First plan the carriage holes which will hang the chime, three is a good number for small circular chimes.  Then make your pattern for the glass to hang from. 

Generally the carriage holes will need to be drilled larger to accommodate all weather string or twine, while the glass will be hung by invisible thread—I suggest fishing line because it holds up stronger and longer than quilting thread—and so the holes should be much smaller (how big of a knot do you want to tie?).

Paint, if desired, tie the “chimes” at the lengths most complementary (too much gap between them will lead to tangles), and hang in a not too windy spot, protected from direct weather.  

 This method works for sea glass and glass gems (of size) too, but remember, the thinner, the better (and quicker).

Using glass gems and sea glass, on bamboo

Using sea glass

A Pair of Raisin-Stuffed Baked Pears

Another experiment, and it turned out well!  Yeah, I’d still post if it was a failure, because who knows, someone could come along and point out where I went wrong.  But here, this is a different note altogether, a dessert that was easy and quick to assemble, and did not disappoint in the flavor department.  In fact, out of all of the stuffed fruits for dessert I’ve made in the last while, this is the one I think my mister liked the best, so now I share it with you.  Though I should forewarn you, it is very sweet, and would best be paired (haha, paired, these pears) with cool whip, crème fraiche, or vanilla ice cream (yes, I know these are all sweet too, but trust me, ok?).  Serves 2.

Ingredients:

2 D’Anjou pears (or other, just none with a skin too thick or tough), mostly ripe   

1/4 C raisins

3 T brown sugar

1/2 T margarine

2 t Disaronno, 2 t more for sprinkling

1/4 t ground cinnamon, more for sprinkling

Method:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Line a small baking dish with foil, and coat bottom with margarine

• In a small skillet, melt the margarine on med/low heat
• Add 2 t Disaronno and 1/4 t cinnamon, sugar and raisins
• Stir, coating, while cooking until a caramel sauce is formed and raisins have plumped, the liquid should be mostly absorbed
• Remove from heat if you notice a white-ish bubbly froth starting to form, you are done 
• Let cool while you core the pears from the bottom, the thick stem inside may be a challenge, but a sharp knife does the trick
• Stuff the hollowed out pears with the raisin mixture
• Place right side up, stuffed side down onto pan, cover with foil
• Bake for 30 minutes
• Let cool for 15-20 minutes, covered
• Plate each pear, spooning sauce from the bottom of the baking pan over the pears, sprinkle with additional cinnamon, and 1 t. Disaronno each
• Add cool whip/crème fraiche/other and serve while warm

Stuffed, ready to bake

The Cellar, Then and Now: Chardonnays

Hello dear reader.  It has become apparent to me, looking back over my previous posts, that I have been shamefully neglecting to interject a bit about wine now and then.  In the spirit of rectifying this oversight, I’m starting a new segment, to be posted at random (of course!) entitled “The Cellar, Then and Now,” which will focus on some of the great wines of our past (worthy enough to save the bottles as decoration) as well as what is in our cellar now.  Our acceptable price ranges have gone up and down through the years, as circumstances of finance act like the tides, so you’ll find a bit of variety here. 

I should definitely make the disclaimer that I am by no means a wine snob.  In the past we would hold blind wine tastings with friends in order to cultivate our own palates and preferences.  This is when we discovered that sometimes the wine we liked the best was not the most expensive of the lot nor even the most acclaimed, how refreshing!  The world of wine is still a vast undiscovered country to me, and I would always welcome hearing your thoughts if you’ve tried any of the wines that I post on.  But for now,

¡Salud! Ура! Prost! Cheers!  Santé !  Felicidades!  Noroc!  Στην υγειά μας!

PS-I’m relying on google translation for these, I hope they are right, if not, please pardon the mistake, I mean no offense.

Chardonnays

I love Chardonnays.  I am a bit picky about them though.  I like a nice weight to it, a bit of oak, smooth and rounded at the edges, not too much citrus, with a nice medium finish.  Here’s one that I stumbled across years ago in a great wine shop on the far edge of town

Empty :(

Bohemian Highway, Chardonnay, 2007 (California)

This was a winner at first sip for me, smooth, rich, buttery, oaky, full bodied, fresh, eminently drinkable all on its own, but to be fair, I gave myself half the bottle.  Just to be sure.  The winery says this about their product: "This is a lightly oaked, fruit driven wine with enticing pear and apple flavors and just a touch of refreshing citrus. Uncork, unwind and let the journey begin."  I was so impressed with Bohemian Highway’s Chardonnay, priced at $5 a bottle (WOW!), I took it upon myself to test the rest of their varietals.  In the end, their Pino Noir was excellent as well, but the Chardonnay was truly exceptional at that price.  Sadly the magic was in the 2007 vintage, California had a wonderful year for Chardonnay that year, not too much heat, and the 2008 was lacking.

Notes of interest (provided by the winery):

Taste--apple, pear, peach, apricot, lemon, lime, orange, pineapple, kiwi, butter, cream, and vanilla

Nose--apple, pear, peach, apricot, lemon, lime, orange, pineapple, kiwi, butter, cream, and vanilla

In the cellar now…and looking forward to

Chateau Montelena, Chardonnay, 2007 (California)

We really enjoyed the movie “Bottle Shock,” but that wasn’t the reason behind acquiring this bottle of wine, although it does give it a novelty value in my book.  It was my birthday, and I love Chardonnays, so this was a gift from the mister, who thought it would be a good bet based on what he had learned.  Here is what our experts say:

90 points Robert Parker: "The 2007 Chardonnay offers up aromas of white peaches, apple skins, and crushed rocks presented in a fresh, medium-bodied, dry, zesty format.

Rated: 91 by Stephen Tanzer, May/Jun 09

Bright yellow. Musky peach, pear and apple fruit aromas and flavors are complicated by flowers and herbs. Concentration and precise, with a dusty impression of extract and very good length. Quite strong for this no-malo chardonnay. Bo Barrett is now vinifying with a higher percentage of whole clusters and getting less bitterness as a result. "So now we don't need as much new oak to compensate," he noted, these wines will get better and better for 20 to 25 years.

This bottle may not make it that long, I have only a certain amount of patience, but we shall see…

Yummy Frozen Yogurt

As far as vanilla yogurts go, I found this to be far superior to anything purchased from a store.  It has less of a blatant sugary taste and texture, so you won’t feel inclined to go running to brush your teeth after indulging.  It has a perfect balance of sweetness, creaminess, vanilla, and just a hint of tang to remind you that you are still eating yogurt.  This is also a basic recipe that you can do a lot with in terms of jazzing up, options extending as far as your fridge/pantry and imagination.  

Ingredients:

2 C All natural plain yogurt (not lowfat)

1/2 C sugar

1/2 t vanilla extract

Method:

Combine ingredients in bowl

Transfer to ice cream maker/machine

Follow recommendations based on the machine, transfer to a plastic container and freeze to desired consistency (Picture was taken at 4 hours freeze time)

If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you will have to churn with a spoon every 45 minutes or so, to ensure even freezing 

*Oats and honey, fruit syrup or jam can be added with a spoon and a stir before placing into the freezer, or after an hour of freezing for the non-ice cream maker method. 

Try it, it's VERY GOOD!!

My Settee, Adventures in Refinishing & Reupholstering

Ever since I laid eyes on it one fine day in an antique shop an hour north of here, I have been dreaming about a settee, pining for it, but most of all, kicking myself repeatedly for not buying it there on the spot.  At the time the price was fantastic, it had been re-upholstered white, and was in need of some minor (only) repairs.  However, as the wise sign hanging there in the shop says…you may find your treasure today, buy it right away, for tomorrow it may be gone.  Indeed, after departing the shop, I had it on my mind for days, and when I returned with heart pounding, of course, it had been sold.

Years later, after always being on the lookout, leaving my name and phone number with shops, just in case, I am lucky enough to once again spot my settee.  I haven’t found another like it for sale on the web, and no other would due as I had found my perfection, with gentle rolling arms, no back, and just that certain width and length.  Yes, it was meant to be.

Gentle rolling arms!

 

The only problem was…I found it while on a trip to visit my mother, several states to the north (yes, I had flown to get there).  How on earth was I to get it back?  Forgive me, I’m leaving out how it came to be.  So, there we were sitting outside of an antique shop, having a slice or two of homemade applesauce bread (mmmm, mom made), when this van pulled up.  I went to get the door for them, and noticed in the back…an arm, a familiar arm.  She (mom) says I stopped in the middle of our conversation, and I do remember calling out to the couple “That’s my settee!” which I’m sure sounded perfectly crazy to them, but after explaining my search, they must have felt pity on me (or just wanted to unload the thing) and gave it to me at a remarkable price.

MY settee

Getting it here was no easy feat.  It was too big to be checked at the airport, and most shipping companies designated it as freight due to its size as well.  But, being resourceful, we removed the legs.  Duh.  Now for a box…Mom once again works her magic, and cut one she had scoured out and stalked down to the perfect size, even with room for some memory foam padding that she’s trying to unload bit by bit.  Fed Ex delivered via ground 2 days later and here’s my settee!!

Did I mention I’m going to refinish it entirely?  No?  Well, that’s the plan!

Step One, The Legs

Easy to unscrew, I was relieved to see a decent wood-grain underneath this awful paint/stain concoction I know not what.  It took 4 hours to strip (Kleen Strip spray), sand and wash, but now we’re on our way!

Original condition

In the process

Stripped, sanded and washed

I went to apply stain the next day, and found a delay...I have no brush.

Why it was so hard to find a 1 inch brush, I have no idea, but here is the finished leg, with one coat of stain, two coats of poly.

Next up, dismantling the upholstery...measuring...repairing...finding new upholstery...and the assembly.
All on hold while I manage this mysterious spider bite that has left my hand red and swollen.  It got me while I was working in the yard, hopefully, I'll be back to normal function soon!

Beautiful Baked Easy Cheesy Quiche

Quiche was introduced to me by the mister many years ago when we were courting, and upon trying it once, I was hooked.  What an excellent breakfast, addition to brunch, or light dinner, as we had tonight.  There are so many variations to buy, I couldn’t resist trying to make it myself.  I wanted a version that was somewhat “healthy” and versatile enough to change according to my mood, or in reality, what filling ingredients I might have around already.  I tried a few recipes from other sites, but I just wasn’t keen on using that many eggs, or buying cream just for this, so I came up with this…my very easy quiche recipe.  

The basics: eggs, milk, crust and bake time do not vary with the fun ingredients I throw in, so feel free to change it around however you like to suit.  Warning: this may be obvious to you, but it wasn’t to me, early on, do not use tomatoes in the filling, you will end up with a gloppy, sloppy, wet mess.

Tonight’s quiche involved vegetables, frozen and fresh, that were just sitting around doing nothing constructive, waiting to be used.

Ingredients:

1 9-inch unbaked pie crust (yes, I cheated and used one from a box, I mentioned this was an easy quiche)

3 large eggs

1 3/4 C milk (I used 2%)

1 C chopped mushroom

1/2 C chopped onion

1/2 C frozen spinach, thawed

1/3 C shredded mozzarella

1/3 C shredded parmesan

1 1/2 T chopped roasted red pepper

1 t Italian herbs, dried

1/4 t ground black pepper

5 thin slices of tomato for decoration (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees                                 

Unroll or prepare crust, and place in a 9-91/2” baking plate (pie plate)

Just before baking

In a medium bowl, whisk eggs by hand for about one minute

Add milk and whisk until evenly blended

Add herbs and black pepper, whisking again

To this mixture, add the onion, mushrooms, red pepper and spinach, stir to combine

Pour mixture into prepared crust

Sprinkle shredded cheese on top, pressing down into the mixture with spoon to coat

Bake uncovered on middle rack for 50 minutes. 

Place tomato slices on top for last 10-12 minutes, if desired

Crust and top should be golden brown

Let rest 10 minutes before slicing

Enjoy!  Would love to hear of your changes/ideas/trials with this very versatile recipe.

Crusty Good Home Baked French Bread

Since the oven was already hot, and I hadn’t any side dish ideas yet for dinner, I decided to whip up a loaf of French bread.  Also, we ran out of bread, and I didn’t want to go to Walmart again so soon.  So, here’s an easy recipe for a 12 inch loaf…of delightful, crispy crust, soft inside French bread.

Ingredients:

2 C flour

1 t salt

1/2 t white vinegar

1 tsp active dry yeast

3/4 C + 1 T warm water

1/2 T olive oil, and 1 tsp or so for the baking pan

Method:

Ready for the oven

• Dissolve yeast in water, let it do its thing for about 5 minutes, give it a stir 
• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, vinegar, 1/2 T olive oil
• Oil pan with remaining oil
• With a hardy hand mixer, add the yeast/water to the bowl until it is mixed
• Kneed for one minute to work it evenly
• Place back in bowl and let rise for 30 minutes
• Remove from bowl, shape into a 12” loaf, and place on oiled pan
• Let rise again for 30 minutes
• Place a water bath (any oven safe vessel filled about half full of water) on a lower rack of the oven
• Preheat to 450
• Use a sharp knife to cut 3 slashes onto the top of the loaf
• Spritz loaf lightly with water, flick it off your finger tips if need be!
• Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown
• Spritz again right after removing from the oven.

This is a nice crusty bread, ready for a hearty meal!

Scrumptious Saffron Rice and Chicken

This dish was an experiment, but a winner, putting my own twists on a classic saffron rice and chicken dish.  On first bite there is a bit of tang, and then the complexity of the flavors works there way around, and you keep eating…I’ve never made anything involving saffron rice before, but there was this lonely packet sitting there in our pantry for quite some time, and I though hmmm, saffron and chicken, this will be fun to work with.  And it was, about as much fun to eat!  If you double this recipe, I suggest using a stock pot, or 4-5 quart boiling pot so you aren’t dealing with a space/volume issue, as it was this worked wonderfully in my regular skillet, and there wasn’t a bite left over.

Makes 2 hungry person servings

Ingredients:

1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast

2/3 C dry saffron rice (I used Mahatma brand)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 t garlic powder

1/4 C margarine

2/3 C sherry

3/4 C water

1 1/2 C chopped fresh tomatoes

1 bay leaf

1/4 t ground black pepper

1/3 C roasted red pepper, chopped

1 t capers

2 T olive oil, for sautéing

additional salt and pepper for seasoning chicken and after plating

 

 

Just before covering

Method:

• Cut the chicken breast into four equal sized pieces 
• In a large skillet, heat 1 T olive oil on med/high heat
• Sear all sides of the chicken, adding salt and ground pepper to season, until chicken browns lightly on all sides
• Set aside in bowl, lower heat on skillet to med/low
• Add additional 1 T olive oil to skillet, sauté onion for about 3 minutes
• Add garlic powder, rice and margarine
• Cook for 1 minute (this will smell really good)
• Add sherry and boil for 2 minutes
• Add water, tomatoes, bay leaf, ¼ t black pepper and mix together
• Once it is boiling once again, nestle chicken pieces into the rice
• Lower heat to very low and cover, let cook for about 15 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed by the rice
• Remove from heat, add capers and roasted red pepper
• Cover and let stand for another 10 minutes
• Plate, adding additional salt and black pepper if desired 

Serve and enjoy!!

GREAT Roll Out Sugar Cookies

One of the most time-consuming cookies is also one of the most fun…rolling out sugar cookies.  I like a sugar cookie that isn’t too sweet on its own, just sweet enough, so frosting is truly optional.  The addition of spices adds to the complexity of the cookie-a more adult sugar cookie if there is one hahaha.  How many this recipe makes is really up to you, and depends on the size of the cookie cutters you choose. 

Here is my recipe for rolling out sugar cookies, ready for you to make, decorate and enjoy… It is not overly sweet, but sweet enough so you can enjoy them on their own, or with frosting.  The little spice added gives them depth and makes them more enjoyable for adults too.

Ingredients:

3/4 C sugar

1/2 C vegetable shortening

1 large egg

1 1/2 t vanilla

3 T milk

2 C flour, + additional for rolling

1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1/4 t allspice

1/4 t nutmeg

Mix:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cover baking sheets with silicon mats or spray with nonstick

Cream shortening and sugar together

Add egg and vanilla, mix with hand mixer

Add nutmeg, allspice, baking powder, baking soda and salt, mix to incorporate

Add 1 T milk and 1 cup flour, blend

Add 1 T milk and 1 cup flour, blend

Add final 1 T milk

Method:

Roll out dough, one quarter at a time, or depending on space, on floured surface with floured rolling pin.

Thickness should be approximately 1/8^th inch thick.

Cut out desired shapes.

Bake for about 7 minutes in the center of the oven, cool for a couple of minutes and remove to a cooling rack or plate

Wait to decorate until they have completely cooled.  

Asian Inspired Lettuce Wraps

A fun, light, fresh vegetarian side for these hot summer days.  You can pair it with other light sides for a fun evening meal.  I sure was grateful for something cool when it is still 95 degrees out at 7pm, these wraps even look cool, don't they?  And you can make this hours ahead of time, just not more than a couple, though, or the lettuce may dry out in the fridge.

Cool, crisp, refreshing, light

Makes 4 wraps about 5-6 inches long.

Ingredients:

4 large leaves of green leaf lettuce

3/4 C prepared white rice

3/4 C pinto beans, pureed in food processor

3 T finely chopped onion

1 1/2 T (heaping) finely chopped garlic

ginger, one piece, one half inch round by one inch high, chopped finely

pinch salt

1/2 t rice vinegar, plus 1 t for drizzling

1/4 t ground black pepper

1/4 t garlic powder

1/4 t ground ginger powder

1 t olive oil

Method:

• In a small boiling pot, heat olive oil on low
• Sauté onion, garlic and ginger on low for about 4 minutes
• Add to this mixture the following, and combine

            Prepared rice

            Pureed beans

            Garlic powder, ginger powder, black pepper, and rice vinegar

• Stir, though mixture will be thick, over low heat for one minute
• Set aside to cool slightly
• Fill a large boiling pot 2/3 full of water, and bring to a rolling boil
• Prepare an ice bath in a medium sized bowl
• One at a time, blanch lettuce leaves by boiling them for no more than 30 seconds, then gently placing them, one at a time, in the ice bath for 30 seconds
• Carefully set each blanched lettuce leaf aside on a cutting board or plate, dab with a paper towel both sides to remove excess or remaining water, do not overlap leaves, and remember they tear easily

Leave yourself plenty of room to work each leaf

• Divide the rice/bean mixture into 4 portions  
• Place one divided portion onto each leaf, aim for an inch or two up from the bottom of the stem
• Form the portions into logs on top of the leaves
• Roll the lettuce by turning up the stem (bottom) portion over the rice/bean log, folding the ends toward the center, and rolling them forward until the rest of the leaf is completely wrapped
• Place on a plate and drizzle 1/4 t rice vinegar over each, refrigerate until serving

I was thinking of going completely vegetarian with this meal, since I had a complete protein with the beans and rice, but I can’t help myself.  I had to add egg to the salad I paired it with.  Just a simple salad, with spinach, cucumber, mushroom, carrot, onion and sunflower seeds, and of course, the egg.

A mild dressing that worked well with both the lettuce wraps and the salad was as follows:

1 1/2 t pressed garlic

1 T chopped onion

1 t chopped ginger

            lightly sautéed, then added to low heat the following-

1 T honey

1 t sesame oil

4 t rice vinegar

2 t soy sauce

1/3 C vegetable oil

1/4 C apricot preserves

1/4 C water

Once this was well heated, almost boiling, I removed it from the stove and chilled in the freezer for a quick cool-down.  If you are seeking a more robust flavor, up the amount of soy sauce and apricot preserves, decrease the water.

The mister said it was a good dressing, and it did work well with the lettuce wraps too.  No picture, it wasn’t that pretty hahaha.

Refinishing Projects: The Dining Room Chronicles

Over the past few years we’ve really done quite a bit to put together a dining room, which in one other place we lived just sat empty because we had no dining set to put in it.  But a sweet lady in our old city, who lived just down the street from us happened to have an extra table in her attic, given to her and her husband by friends of theirs when they were just starting out.  Her husband now passed, and the table replaced long ago, she decided it would be a fitting fate for the table once again.  And that is the story of how we got our first dining table, it is up to us to carry on the tradition some day too now.

It is a beautiful table, but was in need of some TLC, so one spring we decided to completely strip and refinish the entire table.  Crazy, eh?  It was hours and hours (especially for the carved legs) of striping and sanding, until we got to the fun part of staining and the poly coats. 

Then there is the cool story of the chairs…same lady (who knew we would be on the look out for some seating) called us up and said she had spotted a great set of 5 chairs on the curb in a nice neighborhood, and had scooped them up for us!  What a delightful lady!!

We picked them up at a friends house, and quickly discovered that they didn’t look at all like they would go with the table, so I took the task upon myself to try and transform these freebies into functional.

They were structurally pretty sound, just needed tightening and glue here and there. 

Here is a picture of one before, 

And one after another I stripped, stained, padded, upholstered and corded them, and surprisingly they have held up for a couple of years now!

We no longer live in that city, but were again fortunate to find a house with a dining room when we moved. And since I love sunset colors, decided to go with gold and amber when decorating-with no objection from the mister.  Ever since, it’s been fun finding deals to incorporate.

One day at a hole in the wall antique shop (the very best kind where nothing is organized and you bargain for the price) I saw this side table in the “work in progress” section the owner had set aside for pieces needing repair.  It was an awful gold at the time but stuck in my head, so the next day I called and made a deal, I’ll buy it for X and refinish it myself, and it was accepted.  This table had about 6 coats of different kinds of paint on it, dreadful!  But I love the finished product…stained legs and painted top.

So ugly!

Much better

Have you noticed that plate chargers are everywhere?  They range from uber-expensive hand-carved wood, to plastic.  Well, I was willing to jump on the charger trend train, but I wanted glass.  Guess what?  I couldn’t find it anywhere.  Not even on the internet.  Sigh.

What’s a girl to do?  Hatch a plan!

I started searching instead for oversized glass plates, and when that didn’t work, searched for glass by common company names.  Hit!  Anchor.  No, I mean Anchor was the brand, and they were available at my local Wal-Mart.  Sometimes we do a lot of work just to come full circle, don’t we?  It’s only sad when that circle ends for us at Wal-Mart (hahaha).

Hatching new plan…I’ve got the plates, now what exactly did I want?  Something unique, something that ties in my colors and the feel of the room.  And I wanted all glass.  OK, now to work.

First I cleaned them to remove oils, then I found a design online of The Tree of Life that I shrunk down to the right size, printed it out, taped it to the back of each plate, and then began the long process of etching.  I had received for Christmas a year or so ago a Dremmel (woo-hoo!) and found a set of diamond tipped heads that attached to it and found these were perfect for the job.  

Here is a close-up picture of step one, completed on the glass plate:

Step two was equally time consuming, and involved three sheets of stained glass that I picked up from Hobby Lobby for 40% off.  I double bagged them and then ran a hammer into them (while holding the top of the bags) in the air to break them up a bit.  With nippers I made piles of different sized pieces and went to town gluing them in place with the very best glue…E6000, it’s cheap, dries fast, flexible and clear. 

Here is a picture of step two, completed:

What a great feeling it was to be done with pulling the glass slivers out of my hands and to get that last piece nipped into shape and fitting snug!!  Next step…grouting.  After the glue had set for a couple of days, I mixed up my sanded grout in a disposable plastic container (clean up is overrated) and got to it.  I have always enjoyed grouting.  It’s great, really, I get to make a mess, play with wet sand and end up creating something. 

After this, just one more quick step…the grout sealing process.  I used a typical grout sealer and applied it with a small (cheap, disposable-but not so cheap the bristles fall out) art paint brush, sometimes these sealers can cloud tile and glass, hence the brush.  Two coats!  Now let sit and DONE!   What do you think?

Finished plate chargers:

More Etching Fun

I have learned that you can etch just about any glass, as long as it is thick enough to be sturdy—would not recommend fancy, thin-glass wine glasses, for instance.

Here are some candleholders that I picked up at dollar stores for $1 each, and etched different versions of the Tree of Life for the dining room side table.  I used the diamond tips for these on the Dremmel as well, and marked the design directly onto the glass with crayon.  I realize I need a different candle for the smallest one, but...waiting for a sale!

Here are some everyday (probably bought long ago as a Wal-Mart 4-pack) wine glasses that were just calling for some decoration.  Truthfully, I was inspired to do this so that we could keep track of our wine glasses after walking all around and setting them here and there (pretty sure there were countless times the mister took mine!), and wine looks so pretty through the etching.