The power of electricity.....

Today my totally awesome Aunt Lorri came to visit and help Mike install some extra outlets in our kitchen. For some bizarre reason there are only 4 outlets in the kitchen for small appliances and they are only on the right side of the kitchen. One of the outlets is taken up by the microwave and the other by the power adapter for Mike's computer, which leaves me with 2 for my 8 million electric kitchen appliances. Lorri and Mike installed 4 new ones on the left side of the kitchen for me. Yay!

For breakfast and before Lorri showed up, I made Pumpkin Muffins from the 1961 cook book (pg 89). Mixer action:

 

I love love love all things pumpkin and these were divine (especially with the raisins!):

 

I think they would be good as a dessert if you frosted them with some yummy cream cheese frosting.

I got a little bored today since I didn't have access to the kitchen/dinning room for a few hours. I didn't know what to do with myself. Besides watching the Olympics and reading a magazine, I covered this little cardboard box with some left over scrapbooking paper I had:

 

Why did I cover this box? Do you really want to know? If I tell you, you can't get mad or disgusted. Okay. Well when it's my time of the month I leave a tampon box full of all the things I could need for the week out on the counter in my bathroom. The box is not pretty and it's starting to fall apart since I reuse it every month and just replace the items it in. So I thought why not have a semi-pretty un-identifying box for my stuff to leave on the counter for the week. Everything fits nicely into this box and it make things happier for all involved :)

Lorri and Mike weren't in the kitchen all day which means I got to make dinner tonight. Yay! I made my basic chili recipe. It's a ground beef, tomato, and taco seasoning base and then I add whatever is in the fridge or pantry. Today it was pinto beans, green chilies, onions, and jalapenos. Here is a shot of part of the kitchen (on the far left is the new outlet, center is the new magnetic bar Mike installed, and right is my chili on the stove):

 

I decided to pair my chili with Rachael Ray's Flat-Tire Corn and Black Bean Toppers from her M.Y.O.T.O cards my Dad got for Mike for Christmas:

 

They turned out more like corn and black bean pancakes, which were actually really really good. Since the corn muffin mix was sweet it was a nice balance for my spicy chili. I have some leftover ones and I will probably eat them for breakfast!

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I have a lobster tail dinner planned for Mike and I. I am so excited for lobster! In honor of my lobster friends, here is a little clip art I made for a shirt that I made to wear to my brother's varsity soccer games (long story):

Valentine's day is just around the corner.....

What a rainy day....oh bother! What do you think I did? Well I couldn't stop thinking about Valentine's Day on Sunday and spending time with my baby : ) So I made my version of Paul Deen's red velvet cake, I call it "Brown Velvet Cake" since I didn't have any red food coloring (plus I don't like to color foods weird colors). Mixer action:

My Grandma also gave me a silicone heart mold for Christmas. I made half the batch in the mold and the other half as mini cupcakes:

 

 

They were sort of oily. Apparently other people thought that of the recipe too, I guess I should have read the comments before I made the recipe. Next time I will adjust! I wanted to decorate them with the Butter Icing recipe from the 1961 cook book (pg 172), but I didn't put together my icing bag quite right and it exploded on me, so I just had to do this without a tip on the bag:

At least they look festive, right?

Of course I had to try out the new dutch oven today so I made Chicken Cacciatore from the Southern Living Cook book (pg 390). Cooking the chicken (I know it looks sort of burnt):

 

But with everything else added it looks spectacular:

 

And over pasta it tasted great:

 

While I was eating dinner, look what showed up at the door:

 

Mike got me an Azalea bonsai from 1-800-flowers for Valentines day!!!! It was to make up for the fact that when we were in Ohio my little bonsai died. Look how pretty (even before it blooms):

 

And for the enjoyment of all the northerners while I sit here in my 55 degree weather, here is Mike shoveling out of a snow storm back in 2008 in Ohio:

 

Spending some time in the "garden"

Yesterday was spent outside (but it was only 60!) cleaning up the back yard, cleaning up the plants that died during the cold weather, and just being in the sun:

 

Yea I know there is a plant sitting in the middle of the yard. Our north facing porch doesn't get a lot of sun during the day, so we put the avocado out on a piece of plastic that is covering our water access (I think that's what it is). Do you see our nice new fence on the right side? Well not so new any more (my Aunts installed it for us back in September). Anyway, our HOA is putting up a stink about it cause it doesn't match the other crappy fences that they have. Whatever.....Here are the puppies enjoying the sun:

 

And my cilantro is starting to flower and is about to seed (I now have coriander and, very soon, coriander seeds):

 

I am going to be re-planting my basil probably at the end of the month since we have a few more freezes in the next week. 

Yesterday I made some Stewed Chicken based on the recipe from the 1961 cookbook (pg 322). Then I had stewed chicken that I didn't know what to do with. Chicken and dumplings sound good! I found an Old Fashioned Chicken and Dumpling recipe in the Southern Living cookbook (pg 394). My dumplings sort of looked like cauliflower:

 

But they were very good, and stewing the chicken for a few hours actually made some really good broth! Yum (oh, and that triangle is one of the basil ice cubes I made awhile ago):

 

My neighbor gave me some peanut butter that she didn't want, so I made some No Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies from the Southern Living cookbook (pg 149):

 

They were okay. I am normally not a fan of no-bakes, but I like peanut butter! Probably not something I would make again (at least not from this cook book). 

Dinner tonight was my variation of this Rachael Ray recipe, and I mean a big variation. But it was very very good. Grilled chicken thighs (on bone), smashed garlic potatoes, and corn (no mushrooms):

 Oh, and before I forget......Mike bought me a dutch oven today from Aldi for about $30:

 

I haven't gotten to use it yet, but I am looking for a recipe right now so I can use it tomorrow! I love cooking stuff!

And to give you a little laugh while you wait, here is a photo of my Dad and I before my senior prom back in May of 2003:

Picture (and antique book ) overload!

Of course we ran out of cookies again (and I wonder why I am not losing weight), so I made some Drop Sugar Cookies from my Light Cooking book (pg 447). Instead of actually doing the drop cookie, I refrigerated the dough for about 30 minutes, then rolled the dough into little balls, and finally flattened them slightly before baking:

 

As you may notice, I use parchment paper a lot (even if the recipe calls for an un-greased baking sheet). It gives such a wonderful bottom to my cookies:

 

Plus it makes clean up a cinch. Now you might be thinking "You make a ton of cookies! You have to go through a roll of parchment paper a week! And I thought you were trying to save money!". You are right about the money aspect, but let me assure you I always use coupons (since there in one in every box!) and I actually reuse a sheet about 5 times before I throw it away (when it starts to get too brittle and cracks).  Alright, enough about paper. The cookies came out very chewy:

 

Though they do have a slightly funny taste. I think it's due to the fact that the fat is vegetable oil. That's part of the "light" aspect of the cookbook. I think next time I will stick to my butter sugar cookie recipes. But until then, I need (well Mike and I) need to eat all of these:

 

 

 

Remember how I mentioned our trip to Sarasota? Let me share with you some of our finds from the Habitat for Humanity Restore! First is this ottoman on wheels that appears to be from an old hotel (we found a matching couch and were very tempted to buy it since Mike and I really liked the pattern!):

 

Pattern up close:

 

Right now we are torn. We just covered all the pillows with that awesome new fabric. Oh! Here are all the finished pillows:

 

We were planning on covering the ottoman to match the couch (a dark gray, jean type fabric), but for some reason we are both really in love with it. Maybe it's our new found love for all things antique, intricate, and ornate. Speaking of antique, check out some of excellent book finds too! First is a book called Currier & Ives Printmakers to the American People from 1942:

The book is in decent condition. The binding is still holding on, the pages are all there, and nothing is torn. The cover is just slightly warped and has a lot of water spotting. It is actually quite a lovely book with some really pretty pictures:

 

It pretty much tells the whole story of the famous printmakers Currier and Ives and shows some of their best work in both color and black an white. The average price I saw online for this book was about $25 on average and some places even had it listed at $150....we got it for $0.99!

Next we found this little gem:

 

 It's about 3x4 inches total and is titled "Ejercicios Piadsos" roughly meaning Religious (or pious) Exercises in Spanish. It was printed in 1961 in Bareclona, Spain and is all in Spanish:

 

It's not quite a bible but more like a daily devotions supplement. It is actually quite pretty. Now I couldn't find anything online about this, so I have no clue how much it's worth or if there are other copies out there. Here are some more close ups:

 

 

And the best find of the day:

 

 This is the Harvard Classics Shelf of Fiction collection from 1917. Unfortunately it is not the complete 20 volume set. We are missing book 3, 5, and 17 (so if you are looking to get a present for Mike and I....hint hint). The complete set runs about $200 on average in good condition. This set is in marvelous condition. The covers aren't worn or torn. Very few of the pages have tears (I mean like 10 in the whole set). The inside binding of the first volume dose have a little wear, but it's not falling apart. I actually want to read some of these (but I am afraid I might tear the pages!). Here are some more pictures of the first volume:

 

 

  

And that's it...for now! I will be attending an estate sale next Monday with my Aunts and Grandma, so there may be some more exciting new finds! Until next time, please enjoy this hilarious picture of me on my first backpacking trip (which only lasted 2 days cause I wussed out) in the allegheny mountains back in July of 2007:

 

What?

That is my youngest brothers catch phrase. Real original, I know. But definitely annoying. His birthday is this week (Feb. 12) and since he is going to be 14 years old I know he doesn't read my blog. So I am going to share with you part of his present since I finished it today! I was originally going to do the word "Poop" after being inspired by this bib. I even started on the "P" when it was suggested to me that I should do his catch phrase. So I did:

 

These are just felt squares that I stitched with embroidery floss. The big letters are in satin stitch and the smaller letters and numbers are a combo of straight stitches and back stitches. I then attached these to a basic cotton shirt with some iron-on paper and a zig-zag outline stitch:

 

I know not everything is straight or perfect but he is a 14 year old boy for goodness sake, he is not going to care! I actually really liked this idea and I am going to try and spell out more things from the periodic table. Here is the final project (sorry , it is draped over the side of the table):

 

Now I haven't done much cooking in the past few days since we have been busy traveling back and forth to Sarasota and working on projects. But I did cook some wonderful Orange Coffee Cake from the 1961 cookbook (pg 78). We have a ton of oranges still from my Aunts and Grandma so I figured this was worth a try. The mixer in action:

 

And the final product:

 

It wasn't too orangey, which was very nice. It had a light delicate flavor from the 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice in the batter and about 2 tsp grated rind in the topping. For sure going to make this one again (maybe when company comes down so they can have a little taste of Florida citrus?).

I also finished all the pillows on Friday but I forgot to take a picture. I will take one tomorrow during the day so there is better lighting. Until then, please enjoy this picture of my old friend Brock the groundhog. He used to live under the deck at my old house in Ohio. He was quite friendly and would let me get fairly close to take pictures. I was about 4 feet from him when I took this one:

 

 

Don't hate me! (plus tutorial for basic pillow cover)

I should be ashamed of myself. I didn't do any cooking today (besides making eggs-in-a-hole for breakfast). And we even had Taco Bell for dinner (now we did walk the 1.25 miles there and the 1.25 miles back to make up for the fact that we were eating fast food). I don't know what was wrong with me. I did do a little bit of sewing, but most of that was yesterday too. At least let me share with you what I made for dinner yesterday (my first recipe out of the Southern Living Cookbook). It was the Stewed Tomato Bake on pg 492. Here is before baking:

 

Then after adding the topping and baking again:

 

And finally all together. I made some rice and we had some left over cauliflower and then my homemade bread from the other day:

 

It was good, but I didn't use stewed tomatoes since I had cans and cans of diced tomatoes. I think it may have tasted better with a more cooked tomato, but Mike really liked it. Maybe next time I will stew my own tomatoes before making it.  

Mike and I picked out this fabric at JoAnn's to use for covering pillows for our couch:

 

Isn't it cute!  Here is a basic tutorial for covering pillows. I had a bunch of ugly pillows that I wanted to cover and use for my couch. Now two of the pillows had forms inside that were contained so all I had to do is remove their previous covers and put mine on. One of the pillows was just filled with stuffing (in that case you can either just cover the entire pillow or pull the stuffing out and use it in your new pillow). First remove the cover from your previous pillow:

 

Use this cover as a pattern to cut out 2 pieces of your fabric (this pillow had a 1 inch fringe border, I did not do this but I still cut the fabric the exact same size and it worked): 

Now line up the two pieces, right sides together, and pin. Sew a 5/8 inch border all the way around leaving at least a 10 inch opening (or larger or smaller depending on the size of your pillow):

 

After you have sewn all the way around. Clip the 4 corners at a 45 degree angle:

 

Since the seams are sort of large, I ironed them flat against either side so they sit nice once you put the pillow in (if you aren't worried about that then don't bother):

 

Insert pillow:

 

Pin opening shut (try and smush the pillow down as far as you can- you can fluff it later- so you have about 1 inch between your pins the the edge):

 

Top stitch as close to the edge that you can making sure to stich through both sides:

And you are done! Here is one done pillow next to the two others I needed to cover:

 

When the rest are all done I will share the wonderful pictures with you.

Until next time, please enjoy this picture I found in a folder on my computer. It's in a folder that is a bunch of old family photos. I don't know why we had this one. I don't ever remember having a baby raccoon in 2004?!?