When I was little, my mom used to keep a big bag of playdough in one of the lower cupboards so that my siblings and I could play with it in the kitchen while she cooked dinner, did dishes, etc. We sat in the booth in the breakfast nook and squashed it out across most of the table, cutting it with cookie cutters, shaping it into animals, and just generally making a mess and having fun. I still remember fondly the time that a friend and I dared each other to try a piece. Awful, salty, disgusting. The playdough was homemade, completely 'edible', but no one would actually want to eat the stuff.
Read moreCowboy Steak with Coffee and Ancho Rub.
This is yet another recipe from the lovely and talented Ellie Krieger, from the book The Food You Crave. I knew when I saw this recipe that the combination of the espresso, chile powder, brown sugar and other seasonings would be a hit with my husband. The flavor was amazing, though the texture was a bit strange to me, as the coffee grounds, though finely espresso ground, are still very present. Still, this is definitely a recipe we'll make often through grilling season.
Read moreOnion Rings, Oven Baked.
I love onion rings. This is probably expected, what with my onion love posted previously elsewhere on this site. What I don't love is frying things. There are a few exceptions, but for the most part if a recipe calls for frying, it doesn't usually get made. I've modified recipes, like chicken nuggets and french fries, so that I can bake them instead, but onion rings have always failed in this department, even with recipes intended for baking. They never had the same taste, the breading would fall off, it was a disaster. Thus I resigned myself to only getting onion rings on the rare occasion we could get them at a restaurant.
Read moreMaking Crayons.
Jonathan loves to color. He also keeps anything he can, from rocks and pinecones he finds outside to the crayons given to him at restaurants. When the majority of said crayons ended up broken and therefore untouched at his coloring desk, and we found some lovely (read: nearly unbreakable!) crayons at a bookstore a few weekends back, I was faced with the question of what to do with all those extra crayons. Thankfully, I have a wonderful mom who taught my siblings and I how to make "homemade" crayons with broken crayon bits, a cupcake liner, and the microwave. Remembering this, I sat down one morning and whipped these up for my son.
Normally, when making crayons, you simply toss your spare bits into the cupcake liner, microwave for short intervals, say 30 seconds, and stir with a toothpick every so often to make sure everything melts together. Because I wanted to be difficult, or rather, because I didn't want to make four brownish gray crayons, I chose to shred the old crayons finely and layer by color. I WILL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN. The crayons turned out relatively cool, but the rainbow layering didn't hold completely as the cheap crayons I was working with were more wax than coloring and that extra wax floated to the top when they melted, mixing the rainbow layering as it went. I do think it would be fun to try this with mini cupcake liners and make really thick single or double color crayons.
I also chose to bake these, again, so I wouldn't have to stir and mess up the layering. However. If you choose only a few colors, and especially colors that go well together, that BLEND well together, swirling your crayon in the microwave can have really cool effects. I know, I became an expert at this as a kid. :)
As it is, next time I could go either way on baking vs. microwaving, but I will never shred the crayons again. Chop them to little bits, perhaps, but I never want to have to clean wax off my shredder again.
If you'll forgive the close-up of my fingers, here's a better shot of the rainbow layering that did survive the baking process.
A final word of advice: double line your cupcake liners. Some wax can seep through, especially if you bake, so it makes for easier clean-up. Enjoy!
Onion Pan Bread.
Here's another recipe for you onion lovers out there. This bread is impeccably moist, somewhere in texture between a very light biscuit and a somewhat heavier pancake. The onions are deceptively sweet, especially if you find yourself using all vidalia onions. I'd actually recommend reducing the brown sugar that mixes with the onions and caramelizes them if you do use vidalias; too much sweet can, in fact, be too much of a very good thing.(Or so I'm told...) Regardless, this is delicious served warm to accompany a lighter meal, such as grilled chicken or a quick salad. It is best served warm.
Read moreCheddar Chive Biscuits.
I love these biscuits. My husband asked me to make these this week, and, as my chive plant was getting out of control, and I do love to make yummy food for my husband, I happily obliged.
Read moreThings I love.
This. Agnes over at KnockKnocking actually inspired me to make my own wreath. :)
See? :)
This is beautiful. Love.
With all the clocks on all of the electronics around our home, any clock we choose to hang on the wall has to be art as well. While I'm waiting to invest in any major decorations till we have a more permanent home, I definitely love this.
I've been mildly obsessed with square cake stands lately, as I don't have a cake stand I can fit a 8x8/9x9 cake on. However, this happens to be one of my favorites, and it doesn't even work for that! Oh well. Love anyway. :)
Of course, above all things, this I love the most.
My Family. Happy Father's Day, my sweet Chris!
Impossible.
Call to mind the song, Scarborough Fair. The lyrics, apart from the beautiful melody, are a bit strange, aren't they?
Read moreScones.
I love making scones. I used to buy this bag of 'just add water' scones mix, which was decent, but after having one expire on me, let's just say, never again.
Read moreMornings.
I am NOT a morning person. I can't seem to get my body moving in the early hours, and when my son wakes me up each day, (yes, he wakes me up, I almost never use an alarm,) I drag through morning routine. I'm not even really a coffee drinker, so I don't get that boost to help jolt my eyes open.
However.
On those rare mornings, like this one, where circumstances work out just right that I am the first one awake, me, not the noisy, lovable two year old, I get to experience that special type of peace and majesty that God seems to share with us only in the wee hours of the morning. (For me, that's any time before 7 am, just so we're clear.)
Last night, I developed a migraine. I don't get them often, and usually, with my low tolerance for medication, some excedrin will cure it pretty quickly. Not so this time. I was running a temp, feeling sick to my stomach from the brightness of the lights that were on in the next room, and the loudness of my husband quietly talking with me. He sent me to bed at 9:30; this is unheard of for a girl who usually goes to bed anytime between 11:30 and 2 am. Consequently, when I woke up at 3:30 to a bird singing outside my window, I was AWAKE. I laid there for another half hour, willing myself back to sleep, telling myself I'd regret getting up when the light of day finally touched my tired eyes. Finally, though, I decided to get up, enjoy the peace and quiet, do my devotions, enjoy an uninterrupted breakfast, and deal with some prep work for chick week. That was two hours ago, and I still feel well-rested, and now, so grateful that I got this time of peace.
Mornings can be beautiful after all, it seems. :)