Paper Nursery Art

Here is some framed art that I just finished up for our baby boy #2 nursery!  It was super simple and extremely inexpensive (the cost was just a few pages of scrapbook paper.)  I am so picky when it comes to decorating that it is almost imperative that I create my own art, pillows, etc. because I can never find the perfect piece that I am picturing in my head.  The perk is that it is ALWAYS cheaper to make my own things. Win-win. 

How to: 
1.) Pick out a few simple shapes  (I used some wooden shapes of vehicles that I will later turn into a mobile...ooh stay tuned! You could find clipart online, etc). 
2.) Sketch onto back of paper
3.) Cut out, use glue stick to stick onto coordinating paper
4.) Frame, ooh and aah at your work

Fall Tote Bag

It is rare that I A.) sew for fun and B.) end up making something I actually like and will use.  Last Sunday I spent a few hours (like 4-5 total, not a quick project) on this nice, big tote bag.  I bought the fabric a couple weeks ago just because I really liked the pattern.  Then, when I got the sewing itch, I bought a Simplicity pattern (see below) on sale for $1 to make a new bag for the fall.  I think the extra details of the bag (the pleats and the band) made it really special and worth all the work. I've been using it for a few days now and I love it!  It doesn't have any pockets, but I organized my stuff with a zippered makeup bag, wallet, and a couple totes for Luke's things. 

Green lining

Love this button I found!



Simplicity Pattern #2685, bag D



Salted Caramel Brownies

 Still warm from the oven I thought "ugh these are too sweet!" and then I guzzled a cold glass of milk.  Then, I stuck them in the fridge overnight and was all Busta Rhymes on them the next day. "Gimmee some mo!"  These are so good and fudgey and caramely. Dan and I have an argument.  If I could only choose chocolate or caramel for life I would choose caramel, hands down.  He scoffs and says "Chocolate!" So, these brownies are a good compromise for us.

Salted Caramel Brownies

Ingredients

Brownies:

3 19/50 ounces all-purpose flour (about 3/4 cup)

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

6 tablespoons butter, melted  (use salted butter here!)

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cooking spray

Topping:

1/4 cup butter (use salted butter here!) 

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

3 1/2 tablespoons evaporated fat-free milk, divided

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/8 teaspoon coarse sea salt (I used kosher salt because it was chunkier than my fine sea salt)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare brownies, weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through baking powder) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Combine 6 tablespoons butter, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add butter mixture to flour mixture; stir to combine. Scrape batter into a 9-inch square metal baking pan (I only had a 9" round pan, bake for 5 minutes longer) lightly coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 19 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

3. To prepare topping, melt 1/4 cup butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons milk; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and powdered sugar; stir with a whisk until smooth. Spread mixture evenly over cooled brownies. Let stand 20 minutes or until set.

4. Combine 2 tablespoons milk and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave at HIGH for 45 seconds or until melted, stirring after 20 seconds. Stir just until smooth; drizzle over caramel. Sprinkle with sea salt; let stand until set. Cut into squares. (Or cut into pie slices if using round pan)

Maureen Callahan, Cooking Light

SEPTEMBER 2011

Mangia! Homemade Tomato Sauce!

I have a new favorite grocery store in Columbus. It's called Double Oak Farm. It is like going to the farmer's market any day of the week that you want!  They have fruit, vegetables, meat, baked goodies, and pantry items from Indiana farmers and producers.  It's a tiny shop but they have a great selection.  I went in last week to find some "old" tomatoes to make sauce with.  They didn't have any on hand, so they got a TON that weekend just for me! (Well, not just for me...but I still felt special.)  They were only $0.50/lb for their #2 tomatoes (code word for not so pretty).  But they were not ugly at all! They looked a lot like #1 tomatoes if you ask me!   I bought a conservative 8 pounds.  I used a couple for another dinner, and the rest I used to make my first batch of marinara sauce this morning.  I couldn't find the exact recipe that I had in mind, so I found a reasonable one from Mario Batali and then tweaked it A LOT until it was mine (he used canned tomatoes, amateur...)  This is only my first round of sauce making, stay tuned for future saucy adventures...

Malorie's Homemade Tomato Sauce

Makes about 8 cups (about 4 pint-sized jars)

Ingredients:
7-8 pounds tomatoes (find yourself some cheap, ugly #2 tomatoes!) -peeled, seeded, squished, see prep work below
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 large sweet onion, small chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium carrot, shredded finely
1 1/2 tablespoons Italian seasoning (a mix of thyme, oregano, rosemary, basil)
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt, or more/less to your taste

Directions:

• Prep your tomatoes.  This is a bit messy.  I added a few pictures at the end showing this process.

1. With a sharp knife, score an "X" on the bottom of each tomato. 
2. Boil a big pot of water.
3. Fill a large bowl with ice water.
4. Carefully place tomatoes in boiling water for about 2 minutes (do this in two batches if your pot is too small)
5. When skins look like they are peeling off a bit or your "X's" are bursting, fish tomatoes out with a slotted spoon and place into ice water.
6.  When tomatoes are cool to touch, pour out ice water.
7. Get a large bowl and a fine mesh sieve/strainer.
8. For each tomato, peel and seed with a hooked finger into strainer over large bowl.  Put tomato flesh into the same bowl.  Cut off the stem "belly button" and discard.
9. With your hand, mush and push seeds and skins against the strainer over the bowl (to get the tomato juice).
10.  Discard skins and seeds.
11. With your hands, squish and crush the tomatoes in the bowl.  Fun fun! Now wash your hands. Tomatoes are prepped, hooray!

Now for the sauce...

• In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add the Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and carrot, and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft.
• Add the tomatoes and juice, sugar, and salt and bring to a boil, stirring often.
• Lower the heat and simmer for 2 1/2 hours  (After about 1 hour, I used my immersion/hand blender to puree the sauce.  If you do this, be careful not to splash the hot sauce on yourself!)  If you don't have an immersion blender, let the sauce cool and then blend in blender.  If not, the sauce will just be chunky.
• Season with more salt to taste, or leave as is.
• I am not an expert canner, but I bought mason jars to look like I am. I washed them and filled them with the hot sauce leaving 3/4 inch from the top because I intend to freeze a couple jars. Let cool before putting in freezer (I think... again, I'm not an expert on canning.) 
• This sauce holds 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.

Serve with your favorite pasta and add fresh basil and parmesan, too! 

This is what the recipe looked like before I got my hands on it...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/basic-tomato-sauce-recipe12/index.html

You could probably bake these scones and bread outside...

Although it is hardly the season for having the oven cranked up, I have been baking a lot.  Here are two great recipes that I've made recently.  I didn't change them very much except I used more "machinery."  For the blueberry scones, I used my food processor instead of cutting in the butter by hand.  For the oatmeal wheat bread, I used my stand mixer instead of kneading by hand.  So, don't really bake these outside (unless it is 375 degrees out there...and I don't mean heat index).  Recipes are at the end of post.

Blueberry Scones
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Blueberry-Scones
Blueberry Scones Recipe
Oatmeal Wheat Bread
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Oatmeal-Wheat-Bread-232825

Chicken Shawarma

Have you ever eaten an amazing meal at a restaurant and wanted to rush home and try to recreate it?  This happens to me a lot, most recently during a visit to Saint Louis to see my friend, Michelle.  We went to this delicious Middle Eastern restaurant called Ranoush in "the Loop".  I had the Chicken Shawarma and Michelle had the Falafel.  I made the chicken for Dan a couple weekends ago and I hope to make the Falafel when we go visit Dan's brother Kyle and his family.  They have recently decided to follow a vegan diet, and Falafel is perfect for that! Stay tuned in the next couple weeks for the falafel.  Ok, back to the Shawarma... it is a pita filled with grilled chicken marinated with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and curry powder. Served with a tahini (sesame) paste or yogurt based sauce and sliced tomatoes.  I did a google search for a recipe and went with one featured on Rachel Ray's $40 a Day.  I normally run as fast as I can from a Rachel Ray recipe, I'm not sure why, maybe because I know there is probably a better recipe out there. But, this recipe is not hers, but actually from the restaurant featured in her show.  It turned out to be a great recipe.  The sauce in the recipe is a traditional tahini sauce, but at Ranoush they served the Shawarma with a yogurt-based sauce.  The tahini sauce is really great poured over the chicken.  It is made with tahini paste, garlic, lemon juice, water, and salt.  It tastes like really thin hummus.  However, I think I preferred the yogurt sauce (made with essentially the same ingredients, just with yogurt and less tahini) and will try making it with the falafel.  Here is the recipe and pictures!

 

 

 

 

 

Chicken Shawarma

Recipe courtesy Cafe Mediterranean

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 10 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 5 drops yellow food coloring, optional  (omitted)
• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used tenders, no chopping involved)
• 4 pieces pita bread
• 1 tomato, chopped
• Shawarma Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

To make the marinade: In a medium bowl, whisk together the garlic, lemon juice, and oil. Add curry powder, salt, pepper, and food coloring and whisk to combine. Add chicken and coat with marinade. Marinate chicken overnight in the refrigerator. (I only marinated for 3-4 hours)

Preheat a grill to medium heat. Remove chicken from marinade. Grill chicken for about 10 minutes on each side or until fully cooked through. Serve chicken on pita and top with tomatoes and Shawarma Sauce.

Shawarma Sauce: (I cut this recipe in half for you, and reduced the water)
1-2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup store-bought tahini
1/2-1 cup water (just add a little at a time until you reach a good consistency, it should be pretty thin)
1/4 cup lemon juice
Salt

Add garlic to the bowl of a food processor and process until chopped. Add tahini and pulse to combine. With the machine running, slowly add cold water until frothy. Add lemon juice and mix until creamy. Season with salt, to taste.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/40-a-day/chicken-shawarma-recipe/index.html

Two simple dinners...

Both of these dinners are so easy and spring-y, I think you'll love both!  The first recipe is a fun take on a caesar salad.  It directs you to cook the shrimp and crouton skewers in the oven, but I think it would be even better on a grill!  The second recipe is pasta with peas, pancetta, and parmesan (that's a lotta p's!).  I made this twice so far using different types of pasta.  The second time I made it, we were under a tornado warning so I was frantically finishing it up so we wouldn't have to eat it in the bathroom! (Don't worry, it missed us and we only got a little thunder storm). 

#1: Bread and Shrimp Skewers with Romaine Salad
(from Everyday Food Magazine, March or April 2011...can't find it right now!)

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound large peeled and deveined frozen shrimp (about 24), thawed
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 5 ounces crusty bread, cut into 1-inch pieces (3 cups)
• 1 hard-cooked egg yolk, mashed (omitted)
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
• 2 large hearts romaine lettuce, leaves separated

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine shrimp, half the garlic, lemon zest, and 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. In another medium bowl, toss bread with 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper. Thread shrimp and bread onto eight 8-inch wooden or metal skewers. Transfer skewers to a rimmed baking sheet and bake until shrimp is opaque throughout and croutons are golden, 7 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine remaining garlic, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons oil, egg yolk, and mustard; season with salt and pepper. Whisk until well combined; stir in Parmesan. Add romaine and toss to coat. Sprinkle salad with more Parmesan and serve alongside skewers.



Photo taken from Cooking Light website

























#2: Bucatini with Green Peas & Pancetta
(from Cooking Light Magazine April 2011)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped pancetta (about 2 ounces)
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots (or onion)
1 1/4 cups shelled green peas (about 1 1/2 pounds unshelled) (I used frozen, thawed peas)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine (omitted)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme (or a pinch dried)
1/2 pound uncooked bucatini pasta (I've used both ziti and rigatoni)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preparation

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add pancetta; cook for 10 minutes or until browned and crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove pancetta from pan, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in pan; set pancetta aside. Add shallots; cook for 4 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add peas and garlic; cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Add wine and thyme. Increase heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid reduces to 2 tablespoons (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat.
2. Cook pasta in boiling water with 1 tablespoon kosher salt according to package directions, omitting additional fat. Drain the pasta in a colander over a bowl, and reserve 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Add pasta, 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper to pea mixture; toss well. Stir in reserved cooking liquid. Place about 1 1/4 cups pasta mixture in each of 4 shallow bowls; top each serving evenly with grated cheese and pancetta.

Rori Trovato, Cooking Light
APRIL 2011