Dresser Turned Buffet Table

A friend of mine dropped her dresser off a few weeks ago and told me she wanted a black antique finish with glass knobs.

So, I went to work . . .

Sanding, priming, painting & sanding again.

And voila. . .

Crocheted Leg Warmers

I know, my timing is off. Who wears leg warmers in the spring, right? Although, they sure are fitting for this spring!

I crocheted these late last fall for my daughter.

 

The pattern is a single stitch with a J hook & white Caron yarn. I cast on as many stitches it took to go from her ankle to her knee. Then, as I was crocheting I kept measuring to see if the warmer would fit around her leg. After it was finished I stitched the ends together with a large needle & more white yarn.

 

They turned out great and she loves them.

 

My friend is due any day with a baby girl so I crocheted these grey warmers for her. I made them big enough to fit her baby this coming winter (or what I thought would be big enough).

 

 

 

This is a Q hook with very chunky yarn, and I still used the single stitch pattern.

 

I'd like to try & make some for myself eventually, but now I'll wait until summer is through. I want hot weather !!!!

Broccoli Sprouts

I purchased several packets of non-gmo seeds from seedsnow.com recently, one of the packets being broccoli sprouts. I soaked the seeds for 12 hours in water and then left them to dry overnight on a paper towel.

In the morning I prepared a container for the seeds to grow by using a leftover plastic container (that arugula came in from the grocery store) and sterilized it with 2 tbs bleach & the rest water for 30 minutes. Then I poked several holes in the bottom for drainage and filled the container with potting soil. I sprinkled 2 tbs of seeds evenly on the soil, then topped them with more soil.

 

These containers are perfect because they come with a lid, which creates a nice little greenhouse.

After the seeds start to sprout, remove the lid so they're allowed to grow taller.

 

 

It only took 4 days to see all of these sprouts.

 

And look what I had after just one week !!!

 

 

 

Micro greens are not only ridiculously healthy for you but they are delicious too. These broccoli sprouts taste like radishes.

 

 

Homemade Mayonnaise

Remember in my last post I talked about straining homemade yogurt to make cream cheese? The liquid you end up with from straining the yogurt is called whey. Since I had no use for it, I was dumping it down the drain. Oy! A recipe for mayonnaise was recently brought to my attention and it called for whey. So now, I save it.

This is the recipe I used for homemade mayo.

The lady from that blog used a blender. I've seen Ina Garten make mayo with a food processor several times. I don't have either so I used my immersion blender and it turned out wonderfully.

 

The above photo is from the first time I made it. I used extra virgin olive oil, you know the kind that is green in color? The flavor was a bit too strong so the second time I used light olive oil and it had a much milder flavor.

 

You can tell from the color of the mayo on the 2nd round that it was light olive oil.

 

I use mayonnaise on a regular basis for the base of my homemade ranch dressing. Since the first ingredient in store bought mayo is soybean oil, and I try to avoid gmo's as much as possible, I was happy to have found a gmo free mayo, AND, it tastes better!

 

The day after I made this I was watching Barefoot Contessa and she put grated parmesan & chopped fresh basil in her homemade mayo. Yum!! Maybe next time.

Whole Wheat Bagels with Homemade Cream Cheese

I never thought of making homemade bagels before. I didn't think it was possible. Certainly, you needed special equipment!? I'll come back to this.

A friend of mine who also makes homemade yogurt told me that she strained some with paper towels, let it sit in her fridge for a couple of days and then had cream cheese. It tasted so good, I just had to try it at home. I did it by lining a mesh strainer with paper towels, pouring 2 cups of homemade yogurt on top and setting that on top of a cereal bowl. After 24 hours, this is what it looked like :

and tasted heavenly.

So, here I have this delicious homemade cream cheese and nothing to use it on. I really didn't feel like packing 2 kids up in 20 degree weather for a grocery store run. I found some whole wheat bagel recipes online that called for ridiculous ingredients and others that called for equal amounts of whole wheat flour and white all purpose flour, which really defeats the purpose of whole wheat.

Based on my readings, here is what I invented :

2 cups warm water
4 1/2 tsp. yeast
6 tbs. brown sugar (divided)
2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
2 1/2 c. bread flour
kosher salt
olive oil


Mix 2 cups warm water with yeast and 3 tbs. brown sugar. Let sit and get foamy (about 10 min). Add flours and salt. Mix. Knead for 10 minutes, adding more bread flour if too sticky. Coat a bowl with olive oil and let dough rise for 1 hour. Punch dough down and form into a rectangle-ish looking shape on counter. For larger (ok, huge) bagels cut into 6 equal pieces, and for medium size bagels cut into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a log and then form a circle, making it look like a bagel. I pinched the dough together to make it stay. Let these rise on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes.

Bring the remaining 3 tbs. of brown sugar and water to a boil. Drop bagels in 2-3 at a time and boil for 2 minutes total, flipping after 1 minute.

Remove from water, put on baking sheet and bake for 25-30 min at 400 degrees.

Ohhhhhhhhh yum !!!


*Note:
The second time I made these I added cinnamon and raisins at the same time I mixed the flours together. As much or little as you'd like. I really doctored them up and they were outstanding!

Crocheted Scarves

I've made each of my children crocheted scarves for this winter. It's a basic stitch, simple to learn & simple to teach. While I was working on Sophia's over Thanksgiving weekend, my father-in-law noticed and seemed interested so I asked him if he'd like me to make him one too. Without skipping a beat he said "Sure, how about grey? Or black? Or grey?" Hahaha. So, I made him one too.

So, want to learn how to crochet? Come over, I'll teach you! Want to buy a scarf? Let me know, I'll get started ASAP.

Hot Chocolate

We've been watching a lot of "Polar Express" around here. My kids request it everyday and I really don't mind because I enjoy watching it too.

There is a scene on the train where they serve hot chocolate, and after seeing it enough it made me crave some.

I threw some together on the stove with whole milk and ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder. I also threw in some 100% pure maple syrup for some sweetness.

I would say I used 2 cups of milk and 1/3 cup of cocoa powder. Depending on how sweet you want it you can add 1/8 cup of real maple syrup or whatever other sweetener you prefer.

It was delicious !!!

Garden Tomato Soup

Back in late September I had so many garden tomatoes, I didn't know what to do with them. I did some canning, but ran out of jars (I broke several in the process).

Since I had 2 huge baskets full of tomatoes, I was positive I was going to get 20+ jars to use through the winter. I got 8.

So, with some tomatoes yet to use and mason jar-less cupboards, I decided to make some tomato soup with some chicken stock I had in the freezer.

It turned out so delicious considering I made it up as I went.

I probably used:
10-12 garden tomatoes, peeled. (dunk them in boiling water until skins pop)
4 cups chicken stock.
1 large onion
Fresh basil
Cooked bacon
Salt & pepper
Olive oil
Heavy cream (as much or as little as you'd like)

Saute onion in olive oil until onions are slightly browned. Add S&P, stock & tomatoes. Cook this down for 10 min, then stick your immersion blender in the pan until smooth. Let this simmer for 10-15 min then right before serving add heavy cream. Dish into bowls (or mugs) and top with chopped basil & chopped bacon. MmMmmmmmmm.

Homemade Butter

I've frequently bought heavy whipping cream to whip up my own whipped cream for desserts. The taste is unbeatable. I knew butter was made from cream and formed when the solid (butter) separated from the liquid (buttermilk), so I decided to test this myself.

I poured the heavy whipping cream into a bowl and started to beat it with the hand mixer. After awhile (after the whipped cream stage) it started to look like scrambled eggs.

Keep beating it and eventually (like all of a sudden) you have a solid and a liquid. Be careful because the buttermilk starts splashing around worse than my two toddlers in the bathtub together.

I gathered up the butter and gave it a good squeeze. There was still a fair amount of liquid in there. Then my homemade butter went into this pretty silver bowl and I've kept it out on the counter all week to enjoy with my homemade bread. It's been a glorious week :)

Homemade Greek Yogurt

Ingredients:

Crock pot
Candy thermometer
8 cups milk
4 tbs. yogurt starter (greek yogurt)
Large saucepan
Large towel


Plug in crockpot and set to low.

Fill sink with 3 inches of cold water.

Heat 8 cups of milk in saucepan to 185 degrees. Once that temp is reached, set saucepan in cold water in sink and let drop to ~100 degrees.

Mix 4 tbs of greek yogurt with 1/2 cup of milk, stir until combined and set aside.

Pour remaining milk into crockpot and add yogurt/milk mixture. Stir around a few times. Turn off/unplug crockpot, wrap towel around the entire thing and let sit between 8-10 hours. Chill overnight.

Add fruit, nuts, granola, vanilla, etc. I added raspberries. Mmmmmmmm!!!

This is a money saver too if you eat a lot of yogurt!

Homemade Pickles

My garden this year has been producing some real whopper sized cucumbers!

I came across this great pickle recipe from Real Simple :

1 large cucumber
3/4 white wine vinegar
1/2 onion, sliced
2-3 garlic cloves (it didn't say to, but I chopped them up)
2 tbs sugar
1 tsp dill seed (I used fresh dill from the garden, not seed)
1 tsp black peppercorns
Kosher salt

Put cucumbers & onions in ball jar, mix remaining ingredients separately, then pour 3/4 hot tap water and stir. Pour mixture in jar, refridgerate for at least a day. Pickles will last up to a week. Mine were gone in 2 days!

The Most Delicious Oatmeal Bread

There's something about making bread from scratch that screams domestic excellence. Now that I've started, I can't stop. The store bought variety just doesn't compare.

I found a recipe on the side of the King Arthur bread flour I bought and decided to give it a whirl, but made a few changes.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 tsp. yeast
1 1/4 c. warm milk
2 tsp. honey

Combine these ingredients and let sit for 10 min, until foamy.

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour (I used this instead of white flour like it called for)
1 1/2 c. bread flour
1 c. oats
1 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. coconut oil (it called for butter, but since I slather, and I mean slather, butter on the finished product . . . well, you know)


Once yeast mixture is foamy, add remaining ingredients and form into a ball. I use my hands at the end, as it comes together. Knead on a floured surface for 10 minutes. Sometimes I only do this for 5. It's ok.

Shape into a ball and set in an oiled bowl. I use olive oil. Cover with a towel and let rise for 1 hour. After it's doubled in size, punch it down twice, but never do it a third time (haha, kidding). Stretch it out into a rectangle than roll it up so it looks like a loaf. Set it in an oiled loaf pan and let rise for 90 minutes. I know, I know, if it's 4:00pm and you want bread & butter for dinner, no way! This is quite a process.

After it's risen for 90 minutes, bake it at 350 for 35-40 minutes. You will not be sorry. This is so delicious. Go get the butter!

Yep! Homemade Marshmellows

Because what's a homemade graham cracker without a homemade marshmellow? So, I went at it. It's surprisingly easy and the only things the recipe called for that I didn't have on hand was corn syrup and a candy thermometer. I also found this recipe at Smitten Kitchen.

Mix 3 1/2 envelopes of gelatin with a half cup of water and let stand (this will become hard).

In the meantime, put half cup water in a saucepan with 1 cup corn syrup and 1 cup granulated sugar. Heat to 190 degrees then mix with hard gelatin and beat with hand mixer until tripled in size.

Next, beat 2 eggs with hand mixer (clean the sugar off first) until doubled in size. Add this to sugar mixture & beat until just mixed.

Add mixture to oiled pan. You should also generously sprinkle pan with powdered sugar so the marshmellows don't stick. Once poured in, sprinkle more powdered sugar on top. Use a generous amount.

Chill for 3 hours in the fridge and then cut into cubes and enjoy!


I've been looking forward to having a bonfire so we can make smores but it's been too dang hot out. These do toast up nicely though with a lighter, or even over a gas stovetop burner.

Homemade Graham Crackers

I buy at least one box of these every week at the grocery store :



My kids love them and I love them too. I'm not crazy about the ingredients, especially the high fructose corn syrup (yep, I'm on of those people), so I thought I'd give it a whirl and try some from scratch. The first recipe I tried was from Food Network and it was Alton Brown's recipe. It received good reviews but they turned out terrible for me. The molasses that it called for made the crackers very dark and chewy and they had no "snap".

I found another recipe from SmittenKitchen.com and they turned out wonderfully. I didn't do the cinnamon sugar topping, but the crackers didn't need it.




Ohhhhhh yum !!!!

Growing Potatoes

It's easier than you would think. I can't believe it took me this long in my life to find out just how easy it is. I would have done this long ago.

I bought some yellow organic potatoes at the grocery store and allowed them to sprout.




Once they were sprouted I cut them into quarters making sure each piece had one sprout on it.



Then, I planted them in the dirt, sprout side up, then covered them completely back up, mounding the soil over top. I guess the mounding part is an important step. My aunt gave me these potato growing tips and she's been gardening for almost half of a century so I don't ask questions, I just do.

Would you know that within a few weeks this is what I have?




So, these little bushes will get bigger and then they will die. When they are dead, brown & crusty that means your potatoes are ready! This won't happen until late summer/early fall but I can't wait to eat my homegrown potatoes. Isn't nature astonishing?

Homemade Lotion Bars

This recipe for homemade lotion bars came from this blog :

http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/

I ordered the raw shea butter and beeswax from amazon. I already had the avacado oil on hand, but then I also added some jojoba oil and some aveda massage oil which has different essential oils added for a pleasant scent, albeit "hippie scent". But who doesn't love that? Besides my husband. You'll want to add some type of essential oil otherwise you'll smell waxy.

They turned out great! I've had something very similiar to this from Lush stores but these are much cheaper!

I used the paper cups because my muffin tin wasn't exactly squeaky clean and I didn't want bits of leftover muffin crust in my lotion bars. If your muffin tin is clean enough, you can ditch the paper cups altogether.

Chair Refinish

My friend dropped off this chair for me to work my magic on.

It for her daughter's room so it needed to coordinate with the matching dresser & nightstand (pictured below) that I refinished last summer for her.

This bag was my inspiration for the chair. I found it on etsy and love/want/need it !!!

Anyway, here is the finished chair :