Kimberly,

I figured out my password! Only a year and a half late. Hopefully this is the restart of the blog.

So this summer has been a little crazy being in Austin and finding a place for me and Ryan to move into. After picking a place, I got really excited about decorating and having furniture that I like. I've always liked older furniture. They're made of real wood, last longer, and much cheaper at estate sales. 

The Chair

I started out with a small project. The chair was a dark brown wood with the fabric below and only $30. I painted it with white chalk paint, distressed it, and added clear wax to protect it. Chalk paint is the lazy person's dream come true! You don't have to sand any wood or prep it other than wiping it clean. The chalk paint was the only thing that went according to plan. The wax dried yellow and the chair leaned forward about and inch because there used to be wheels in the front two legs. I painted over some of the yellow and was left with a little tint that made it seem a little antiqued. Pete, Ryan's dad, had the great idea of buying a broom handle to cut into pieces and screw and glue onto the front legs. It worked and you can mostly not tell. It was much more work than I thought it was going to be. 

The Table

A few weeks later me and Robin, Ryan's mom, walked into an estate sale as they were cleaning up. I was able to get a sturdy table for $40 with scratches on the top. This was by far the hardest of the three pieces that I worked on this summer. I chose to sand the top to take off the scratches and stain the table top any color I wanted. This took about 5 hours of sanding. I was probably doing something wrong, but I didn't stop to think about it. I welcomed the busy work after spending the past week in bed recovering from the wisdom teeth extraction. 

The picture below shows the wood sanded down with the legs coating with one layer of white chalk paint. It usually takes about two coats to cover the dark wood underneath.

Below is the finished product! You can't really see the top, but it's stained deep red. It's in the new place so I had to ask Ryan to send me a picture. The paint was finished off with clear wax, distressed, and then dark wax to made the details in the legs stand out.

The Dresser

I also bought the dresser at the estate sale for $40. They called it a "Lingerie Dresser?" This piece I painted a light blue first, with two dark royal blue coats of paint on top. The idea was that when I sanded, two colors would show through, the wood and the lighter blue. 

Another mid-project picture. I was still nervous about the dresser being too dark.

The last picture shows the dresser sanded down and covered with clear wax and then dark wax along the edges to make the lighter color pop. This was taken mid-move, with missing hardware and drawers. I pushed the drawer in before remembering that it had no handles yet. Me and Ryan had to tilt the dresser and shake it haha. The top has a key and cool little details on the swinging doors. I love old furniture. The dresser was definitely my favorite and didn't take much effort. 

I really enjoyed spending hours each day working on these. It's relaxing and a good break from work. Once I get back to Lubbock (so I stop taking up all of Ryan's parents garage, yikes), I want to start finding more and possibly selling them :) This was good practice for anything you want painted for your wedding too! I can't wait for wedding talks soon!

I miss you and I'm excited to see you in a few months in good ol' Texas. Hope you and Will and doing well.

Love,

Catherine

A Late Thanksgiving Update: Spatchcocked Turkey and Homemade Pies

Hey Catherine,

Happy Thanksgiving or Merry Christmas or Happy New Year! Take your pick because neither of us have updated in quite a while. This post contains my turkey and pies from Thanksgiving and one more pie from Christmas. It's been a fantastic holiday full of food, friends, and family, all of which I was missing pretty severely at the end of this past semester. 

So let's talk about Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving. It's probably my favorite holiday (with traditional Valentine's pretty much in last) because it's a wonderful break from school for me to craft delicious food that I wouldn't normally have time to make, and it isn't burdened with presents like Christmas. Thanksgiving is simple. No presents, no decorations, just one day of food and people you love. 

The Turkey

The center of our Thanksgiving dinners has always been the turkey. In the past I've spent a lot of time and effort fussing over the turkey, making sure it stays moist after hours in the oven. Earlier this year I read about a wonderful, almost violent, way to cook a turkey faster. The shorter cook time means that the turkey stays moist, doesn't have to be basted, and still develops a beautiful crispy skin. The name of the technique (and my favorite word to use in polite conversation) is spatchcocking. You can find a number of articles and videos online that describe the technique, but I'll go ahead and give an overview of the steps. Don't forget that you can spatchcock almost any fowl, which means that you can also cook whole chickens, turkeys, etc. faster than you previously thought. So here we go, take your turkey and lay it down with the spine facing up. With a very good pair of kitchen shears, cut along both sides of the spine and remove it. Flip the turkey over so the spine gap is facing the counter. Using the heel of your hand (you want your weight centered over the turkey, if you're shorter you may need to stand on a chair to accomplish this), press down on the sternum of the bird. You will hear the rib bones breaking as the come loose from the sternum. Cut any extra pieces of fat or pull any excess feathers off of the bird. With the skin facing up, arrange the flattened turkey on a baking sheet. And that's really it for prep! We learned a few things on our first spatchcocking attempt. One, it takes quite a bit of hand strength to cut out a turkey spine. We had to take turns cutting. Two, that turkey is a slippery beast. Maybe it should be contained by a baking sheet while flattening. This way it won't slide on the corner and hit anyone in the crotch (true story). Three, the turkey cooks FAST. Make sure you're ready with a meat thermometer and check your turkey a little early. 

You don't need a bed of vegetables or champagne or broth to roast a spatchcocked bird. You can place it on a greased baking sheet, rub it with olive, sprinkle on some salt and pepper, then roast it. Easy peazy lemon squeezy. Our 12 pound turkey cooked in 90 minutes. Presented below is the turkey we actually made for the day itself.

Spatchcocked Thanksgiving Turkey

1 turkey (cook time will depend on weight)
generous handful of each, chopped: onion, carrots, celery
1/2 cup champagne
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs poultry seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. 
2. Spatchcock the turkey, as described above.
3. Cover large baking sheet with foil. Strew vegetable in pan and pour in wine and broth. Be smart about how much liquid you add. You don't want the pan to overflow. 
4. Place turkey skin up over vegetable. Rub with olive oil and seasonings.
5. Roast in oven for 90 minutes. Turkey is finished whenever thermometer inserted into the meatiest part of the thigh reads 165 F. Cook time with vary with turkey's weight. 
6. Let turkey rest for 30 minutes before carving. 

Turkey Tips

- Make sure your turkey is fully defrosted before roasting! This may require you to buy a turkey 5 days in advance so it can thaw in the fridge. Don't defrost your turkey on the counter! Or under hot water! Do you want to die from some nasty bacteria?
- Always rinse poultry off under cold water before processing further. Washes off some bacteria. 
- The day before roasting your turkey, remove the giblets and simmer with chicken broth, herbs, onions, carrots, and celery for 4-5 hours. Strain and store in fridge for the next day. This will be the base for your gravy. 
- Name your turkey. That way you get to cut out Bob's spine then rub him down with oil. Lends some dark humor to an otherwise peppy holiday. 
- Wash your counter and sink with a strong cleaner after handling raw poultry. Again with the horrible bacteria. 

The Pies

Pies can be bleh. Pies can be okay. Pies can be heavenly. We strive for the latter. 

There are several dos and don'ts that can make or break a pie crust. Don't ever let your dough get too warm. Never ever. Don't handle the dough too much or work in a warm kitchen. Make your crusts before turning on the oven. Until you actually place the crust in its pan, you shouldn't be handling it directly. Do use cold water. Ice cold water. Do use a mixture of Crisco and butter in your pie. The former yields a delicate flaky crust and the latter lends all of that fantastic butter flavor. And don't forget the homemade whipped cream! 

Two Crust Pie

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

2 Tbs sugar

12 Tbs unsalted butter, chilled

8 Tbs vegetable shortening

8 Tbs ice water

2 Tbs sugar

2 Tbs cornstarch

1 egg white

1. Mix the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor. Cut butter into smaller pieces and add to food processor. Pulse a few times. Add vegetable shortening to food processor. Pulse a few more times, until butter and shortening are the size of peas or smaller. Dump into a bowl. (Note: You can do all this with a pastry blender instead if you don't have a food processor.)

2. Sprinkle 3-4 tablespoons of ice water over the dough mixture, mixing and pressing with a sturdy rubber spatula. Add water a tablespoon at a time (or less) until the dough comes together and forms a cohesive ball. Divide into two and wrap each half in plastic wrap and flatten into a disk. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until ready to use.

3. Cover pie plate with pie crust. Trim around edges so that 1/2 inch of crust hangs over. If you're not doing a covered pie, fold this under and decorate as you wish. Sprinkle a 50:50 mixture of cornstarch and sugar over the bottom of the crust. This will keep your crust from getting soggy. If making a covered pie, sprinkle sugar mixture on bottom, add filling, add top crust, fold under crust and decorate. For all pies, beat egg white briefly by hand. After filling the pie, paint crust with egg whites then sprinkle with sugar. Bake according to specific pie recipe. 

Pecan Pie

Pastry for one uncooked pie crust (see above)

2/3 c sugar

1/3 c butter, melted

1 c corn syrup

½ tsp salt

3 large eggs

1 c. pecan halves or pieces

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line pie plate with crust. 

2. Beat sugar, butter, corn syrup, salt, and eggs in medium bowl with wire whisk/hand beater. Stir in pecans. Pour into pastry lined pie plate.Trim the edges of the top and bottom crust to 1/2 - 1 inch beyond the pie pan and then fold under. Either press around the perimeter with the tines of a fork or crimp it with your fingers.

3. Brush the crust with a beaten egg white (or cream) and sprinkle sugar on top.

4. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until center is set. 

Cherry Pie

Pastry for two uncooked pie crusts (see above)

3 cans tart cherries in water 

4 Tbs cornstarch

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/8 tsp salt

scant 1/4 tsp almond extract

(If you can't find canned tart cherries, use sweet cherries and cut the sugar down to 1 cup.)

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Cover a cookie sheet with foil and place on a lower rack (to catch any potential drips).

2. Pie filling: mix the 3 cans of cherries plus the juice from 1 1/2 cans with sugar, cornstarch, salt, and almond extract. Let sit for half an hour.

3. Sprinkle the counter with flour and roll out the bottom pie crust. Arrange in pie pan.

4. Roll out the top crust. Use a sharp knife to cut the top crust into strips for a lattice crust or use a cookie cutter to make other designs in it. Either drape your top crust over the pie or weave your traditional lattice crust.

5. Trim the edges of the top and bottom crust to 1/2 - 1 inch beyond the pie pan and then fold under. Either press around the perimeter with the tines of a fork or crimp it with your fingers.

6. Brush the crust with a beaten egg white (or cream) and sprinkle sugar on top.

7. Bake for 20 minutes at 425 F then lower the oven temperature to 375 F and add a pie crust shield to protect the outer edges of the crust. Bake for another hour or so (but start checking on it after 45 minutes), until the crust looks nicely browned and the juices bubble up thickly.

Pumpkin Pie

Pastry for one uncooked pie crust (see above)

2 large eggs

½ c sugar

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp allspice

1 can (16 oz) pumpkin

1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

1. Heat oven to 425 F.  Place crust in pie pan. Trim the edges of the top and bottom crust to 1/2 - 1 inch beyond the pie pan and then fold under. Either press around the perimeter with the tines of a fork or crimp it with your fingers.

2.  Beat eggs slightly in medium bowl with whisk. Beat in remaining ingredients.

3. Cover edge of pie crust with foil. Place pie plate on oven rack and add filling into hot pie crust.

4. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°. Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 15 minutes or until knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

5. Refrigerate after cooled. 

The Best Ever Pumpkin Muffins

Catherine,

So most of the recipes I've posted thus far have been blatantly someone else's or a combination of two recipes. This recipe, I feel, is more my own. Last year for a Christmas party, I sat down and combined all of my favorite things from about six (maybe more) different pumpkin bread recipes. These are the result. Now, I know you're trying to stay away from eggs (and this recipe has 4...) but maybe you can do some creative cooking of your own and find some decent substitutes? I've browsed some vegan blogs for just that purpose, and it seems that people have come up with all sorts of decent alternatives. This website seems to be pretty exhaustive in its suggestions. I think the key thing is to figure out just what role eggs are playing in your baking. It suggests bananas or pumpkin as a replacement in muffins and bread, so maybe you don't even need them here because there's so much pumpkin already? If you try out an alternative, I'm very curious as to the result. 

I made these muffins without the glaze and without chocolate chips. I just love the taste of pumpkin (or maybe all the spices...) that I don't like to cover it up. I also don't tend to love food that is overly sweet. On the other hand, I've made these with glaze and/or chocolate chips, and they're still unbelievably awesome: they make you want to see a dentist.

Love and stuff,
Kimberly 

Pumpkin Bread

Makes ~30 muffins or one huge loaf or 3 little loaves

2 c sugar 
½ c butter 
4 eggs 
15 oz can pumpkin 
½ c applesauce   
1 tsp. vanilla 
⅔ c water
3 ½ c flour 
2 tsp baking soda 
1 ½ tsp salt 
1 ½ tsp cinnamon 
1  tsp nutmeg 
½ tsp cloves  
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp allspice 
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans (or line 18 muffin cups).
2. In a mixer, cream together sugar and butter. Then mix in eggs, pumpkin puree, apple sauce, vanilla, and water until well blended. 
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves ginger, and allspice. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. (Stir in chocolate chips.)
4. Pour into the prepared pans. Bake loaves for about 50 minutes (16-18 minutes for muffins). Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
5. Glaze muffins once cool.

Glaze

1 Tbs melted butter
1 dash milk
1 dash vanilla
1 c powdered sugar (or enough to make correct consistency --- just keep adding sugar till glaze isn't runny)

Beat it all together. Spread or drizzle onto cooked bread/muffins. 

Tips

-If you make one big loaf, it takes FOREVER to cook. We were late to the aforementioned Christmas party because it just wouldn't finish. I prefer to make cupcakes because they're much more predictable. And cleaning is minimized when you use cupcake liners!

- I haven't figured out the best way to store these. The tops get a little soggy when they're in a closed container. Maybe there's too much moisture in the batter? I just don't know. Maybe putting a stale piece of bread in the container will pull some of the moisture from the air? (This words really really well in reverse for cookies. If you have a tin of cookies that have gotten too hard/stale, throw in a piece of un-stale bread, and the cookies will steal moisture from it. You're left with a rock hard piece of bread and perfect cookies.)

Keeping It Simple: Black-Eyed Peas with Turkey Sausage

Hey Catherine, 

Grad school is taking up a fair bit of my time, so I've been trying to keep meals simple. For the past two weeks, one nicer meal has been made on Monday followed by our filler meals (roasted fish and veggies, usually) for the rest of the week. For my birthday, our brother got me a fantastic new cookbook: 6 Ingredient Solution by America's Test Kitchen. So far the two meals (an Italian meatloaf and enchilada casserole) I've made from it were pretty friggin' good. Their concept is simple: use fewer, more complex ingredients. That's not what they've said, but that's what I've decided. I'm waiting for colder weather to hit before I try out a butternut squash soup that's seasoned with (wait for it!)... a Chai tea bag. I'm still not over that clever idea and sorely want to see how it turns out. 

This Monday I decided to take simple a step farther with our cousins' (J&S) black-eyed pea recipe that they like to serve when the family gathers at the lake. Remember that recipe where I made a double batch of cornbread instead of a single and ended up freezing half? That frozen cornbread made it's debut too, and I must say, don't be afraid to freeze cornbread. I let it sit out on the counter to defrost and then microwaved it covered with a damp paper towel. Sure, it's not that fantastic fluffy cornbread with the crispy edges, but it works. Especially covered with honey. 

W and I have also switched to brown rice instead of white. It takes ~35 minutes to cook instead of 20, but it tastes better and is much better for you. By my reading, brown rice is magical stuff full of all of the things and white rice is crappy crap crap. That's my scientific outlook. But it fits into my new hope to incorporate more grains that are unrefined into our diets. Fewer tortillas, more wheat wraps. Wheat bread, not white. Same for rice. I even bought a "7 grain blend" at our local hippie-health food store (which has a large vitamin, supplement, and alternative medicine section that I glare at menacingly) to try for breakfast. More on that in another post, perhaps. 

Also served with dinner was leftover steamed brocolli (Monday) and sweet potato fries (Tuesday). I may have overly carbed Tuesday's meal, but I'm over it. In fact, I loved it. 


I hope school is going well, and it's almost your birthdaaaaaay! (Drink lots of water, okay? Two drinks. One water. Repeat. You'll thank me.)

Lurve,
Kimberly

P.S. I had my bedside lamp on my kitchen table, and my tripod and I stood on a chair for this shot. Nighttime shooting is not easiest. Or safest.

Black-Eyed Peas with Turkey Sausage

(when served over rice, about 6 servings)

8 oz black-eyed peas, dried
1 onion, cut into wedges
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1/2 tsp pepper
dash of salt
1 tsp olive oil
1 lb smoked turkey sausage, sliced

1. Rinse peas, picking out any rocks or suspicious looking objects. Soak overnight in enough water to cover by 2 inches.
2. Drain and rinse peas. In a crock-pot, combine peas, 4 cups of water, onion, jalapeno, pepper, salt, and olive oil. Cook on low for 4-8 hours or until desired texture. (Probably could cook at high for 2-4 hours. Haven't tried it.)
3. If you're serving with brown rice, start cooking that according to package directions 40 minutes before you want to serve dinner. 
4. About 20 minutes before serving time, sautee sliced sausage on medium/medium-high until it has browned on both sides. Add to the crock-pot.
5. Serve peas over rice with a nice slab of cornbread. 

Tips

- If you're not using the turkey sausage, add more salt to your beans. There's a pretty large amount in the sausages, so you just have to balance appropriately.

- I know you're a baby when it comes to spicy food, but I think one seeded jalapeno will be fine for you.

- The package recommended amount of water for this amount of peas was 3 cups. Since I was letting mine cook longer in the crock-pot (because I was away at work), I added an extra cup to keep things from drying out. Reduce water for reduced cook times, but don't go below the recommended amount.

- Instead of a crock-pot, you can get your ingredients boiling in an oven safe pot, then keep the covered pot in the oven at 250 F. 

- This is definitely something you could make at Dad's house, partition into one serving sized plastic baggies, and then keep frozen in your dorm fridge. I can't imagine it not reheating well. 

Happy Birthday!

Kimberly,

I have finished your present! It'll be heading your way today. I had fun thinking of food and Julia Child for a couple of days. She was a talented and entertaining cook, like you are now. The quote is perfect for our hungry family. Originally, I was going to make a floral watercolor wreath, but I felt that food wreath is better for the quote. The style should look good next to your Harry Potter drawing in your new home. 

I hope that I can keep blogging during the school year, especially now that I have a better idea about my allergies. I miss your delicious cooking and goofy-ness.

Love,
Catherine

Chicken and Black Bean Chili with Cornbread

Catherine,

So W has been working out quite a bit, so I decided to make a healthy and protein loaded dinner. Per usual, I did some pretty silly things. The last time I made cornbread, I made an 8x8 pan, but this time I wanted the full 9x13. So obviously, I doubled the recipe. Without looking at how much it actually makes. As it turns out, last time I had halved the recipe. You see where this is going... In short, we have tons and tons of cornbread, way too much for two people. I used this recipe for homesteader cornbread and didn't change much. Now for the chicken and black bean chili I changed a few things. For instance, who uses garlic powder when there is real garlic somewhere in the world?! Silly people. I also cut out the chicken stock because I ran out of room in my 12" pan (that's 2" deep), and I added an adobo chili for extra pizzazz. 

This is my second meal to cook in the new house, and I'm slowly getting used to the new stove we have. It's gas, which means that things are hot almost instantly, but the oven gives off a ton of heat (and the drawer below the oven is a broiler, not storage space- almost made that mistake before W caught me). 

Anyway, I have chemistry stuff to read so I don't fail grad school before it even starts. 

Bon appétit!
Kimberly

Chicken and Black Bean Chili

1 Tbs. veggie oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2-3 chicken breasts, cubed
1 adobo chili, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs paprika
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, don't drain
1 15 oz can creamed corn
cilantro and shredded cheese, for garnish

1. Heat oil over medium high in a deep 12" skillet. Sauté bell pepper and onion and onion until soft. Add adobo chili and garlic and sauté until fragrant, 30-60 seconds. Add chicken and sauté until lightly browned. 
2. Add in seasonings and give a good stir. Add the beans, tomatoes, and corn. Simmer for 20 minutes, adding water if mixture gets too viscous. Serve with cilantro and cheese.

Homesteader Cornbread

for 9"x 13" pan

1 1/2 cups cornmeal
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup veggie oil

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Stir together cornmeal and milk. Let sit for 5 minutes while you measure out everything else.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Beat in cornmeal mix, eggs, and oil. Pour into greased 9" x 13" baking pan and bake 25-30 minutes.

Tips

- Adobo chilies are stocked in the Mexican section of the grocery store. I buy a can, use what I need, and freeze the rest in a plastic baggie. Otherwise, you end up throwing tons of it away. 

- If you want especially fluffy cornbread, use a mixer and beat the batter for 1 minute to incorporate air bubbles. 

Chocolate- Peanut Butter Banana Bites

Kimberly,

As you've made clear in previous posts, I am very lazy. I like to make good tasting things with little effort and time. Also, because of sophomore 20, I am trying to eat better. In order to still have desert, I have gotten a little creative. Last night I made chocolate-peanut butter frozen banana bites. Putting them in the freezer makes the banana have a ice cream texture. It's delicious.

To make these, all you need is:
2 bananas
about 4.3 oz. of chocolate (I used 74% dark chocolate)
about 2 scoops of creamy peanut butter
small handful of chopped nuts or coconut (I put almonds in a food processor)

I'm sure you could wing the recipe and be fine but I'll tell you what I did so other people can make these. First I cut up the bananas. I cut each one into about 8 pieces. I melted all the chocolate on the stove over low to medium heat and then stirred in the peanut butter. We only had crunchy peanut butter so I have to also put this in the food processor. This is the only valid reason to choose creamy peanut butter over crunchy. Have your topping ready in a small bowl and a pan laid out near your wonderful smelling mess. Now you can roll each piece of banana in the chocolate- peanut butter mix using your hands. It will get messy, but it's the best way to cover them and to have chocolate fingers for later. Put the piece on the tray and sprinkle with your nuts/ coconut. After you finish all the pieces, put them in the freezer. I ate one of the warm ones and it was delicious. However, it's worth waiting for the bananas to freeze over night. I brought these to work, and they were consumed immediately.

Can I please buy you a hand held mixer as an early birthday present? I've mixed by hand and I never want to do it again. Unless you are going for very toned arms, let me get it when you come down. I can't wait to see you!

Catherine