I am. This malady rarely effects those with nothing to do, but instead those to whom nothing appeals at the moment. Break out of this with me.
Start here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/buttonsbowsandbirds
Find some other Etsy shops that sell cool handmade items. If a shop makes you say, "dang, that's awesome" or anything like that, post the link to that shop in the comments thread for me to look at.
Finally, be inspired. Think of something cool and creative to do and tell me about it.
Test on Friday. Just kidding. *Dances to Alice Cooper's "School's Out"*
Monday, May 30, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
PHOTOS! Apartment gardening, pt. 2
As promised in one of my first posts (see the one with the elaborate Microsoft Paint attachment), I have photos of my porch garden and some ideas to grow some lovelies yourself!
I really like the window boxes, and there are braces available for those who want to put them on the porch railing. We get a lot of wind, which equals a lot of plants overturned by me practicing that very method, so I set them on a more protected area. I've also seen people who used shoe organizers for herb gardens: http://www.instructables.com/id/VERTICAL-VEGETABLES-quotGrow-upquot-in-a-smal/
Those upside-down tomato and strawberry growing kits are pretty tempting as well, offering utilization of bird feeder hooks and possibly the porch railing as well. Here's how to make on yourself, and it looks really cool to boot! http://www.curbly.com/diy-maven/posts/1620-how-to-make-an-upside-down-tomato-planter
The soil around here is decently poor, especially close to the apartment, and weeds are always an issue, so I've spent quite some time adding rich soil in order to make the ground a little more garden-friendly. One advantage we have is sunlight. Most people in apartments tend to have lots of shade but very little sun, and it's hard to find vegetables that thrive on shade. Herbs do pretty well and are pretty popular because they don't need a big, deep pot to grow, nor are they particularly high-maintenance.
This article (no pictures, sadly) is all about container vegetable gardening and what veggies need what size container: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8105.html
I hope this helps some of you limited-space people! So, what did I miss? Any other ideas, recommendations, stories about what to use/not to use when limited-space gardening?
Those upside-down tomato and strawberry growing kits are pretty tempting as well, offering utilization of bird feeder hooks and possibly the porch railing as well. Here's how to make on yourself, and it looks really cool to boot! http://www.curbly.com/diy-maven/posts/1620-how-to-make-an-upside-down-tomato-planter
The soil around here is decently poor, especially close to the apartment, and weeds are always an issue, so I've spent quite some time adding rich soil in order to make the ground a little more garden-friendly. One advantage we have is sunlight. Most people in apartments tend to have lots of shade but very little sun, and it's hard to find vegetables that thrive on shade. Herbs do pretty well and are pretty popular because they don't need a big, deep pot to grow, nor are they particularly high-maintenance.
This article (no pictures, sadly) is all about container vegetable gardening and what veggies need what size container: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8105.html
I hope this helps some of you limited-space people! So, what did I miss? Any other ideas, recommendations, stories about what to use/not to use when limited-space gardening?
Monday, May 23, 2011
And now for something completely different...
I've noticed my recipe blogs of late have tended toward the exotic, involving ingredients that are kind of hard to come up with and flavors that, quite frankly, not everyone likes. Those of us who crave East Asian cuisine on a budget love it, but I don't live in East Asia. I live in America, and since it is spring/summertime in America...
Kick Booty Coconut Cake
1 cake mix (and ingredients to make it)
1 tub cool whip
1 bag flake coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can coconut milk
Bake cake according to box directions (or bake a yellow cake from scratch). With a chopstick or similar utensil, poke a bunch of holes in the cake. Mix the two "milks" and pour the mixture into the cake and let it soak in. When the cake has cooled completely, spread the cool whip over it and cover in coconut. Chill overnight and serve cold.
Kick Booty Coconut Cake
1 cake mix (and ingredients to make it)
1 tub cool whip
1 bag flake coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can coconut milk
Bake cake according to box directions (or bake a yellow cake from scratch). With a chopstick or similar utensil, poke a bunch of holes in the cake. Mix the two "milks" and pour the mixture into the cake and let it soak in. When the cake has cooled completely, spread the cool whip over it and cover in coconut. Chill overnight and serve cold.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
The Iced Tea of the Eastern World
I'm talking about Thai food. Many have joked at the big Southern Contradiction: you boil it to make it hot, put ice in it to make it cold, lemon in it to make it sour and sugar to make it sweet. I think the Thai have us beat, though. With coconut to make it cool, chilis to make it spicy, sugar to make it sweet, soy sauce to make it salty, and random herbs thrown in there, I cringed as I put the peanut sauce to my lips to taste it. Imagine my surprise when it was wonderful. Really. I fully expected to hate it, but nothing else in my recipe book called for coconut milk, and I had some leftover from the coconut cake I baked for a party.
Enough introduction, it's share time:
1/4 c. crunchy peanut butter
1 t. lime juice
1 1/2 t. soy sauce
1/2 t. hoisin sauce (I didn't have Worcestershire)
Garlic (about 1 clove, minced)
1 t. crushed red pepper or 1 chili
1-2 t. garam masala or curry powder
1 can coconut milk (add about 1T brown sugar if it's unsweetened)
Cilantro and basil to taste (I always skip the cilantro as it is nasty)
1/2 t. ginger brine (or minced fresh ginger if you have it)
Mix all ingredients except coconut milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Slowly add the coconut milk until everything is smoothly blended together (obviously peanuts and spices will stand out, but the consistency should be smooth). Heat thoroughly until it begins to thicken, but do not boil.
Recipe idea: over Udon noodles and sauteed vegetables is AMAZING. This would also be good on da cheap over a bed of ramen with some green onions snipped on top. I could also see this being a wonderful chicken topping. I especially like that I can use my Indian spices and my Japanese food together. <3
Any Thai recipes/suggestions?
Enough introduction, it's share time:
1/4 c. crunchy peanut butter
1 t. lime juice
1 1/2 t. soy sauce
1/2 t. hoisin sauce (I didn't have Worcestershire)
Garlic (about 1 clove, minced)
1 t. crushed red pepper or 1 chili
1-2 t. garam masala or curry powder
1 can coconut milk (add about 1T brown sugar if it's unsweetened)
Cilantro and basil to taste (I always skip the cilantro as it is nasty)
1/2 t. ginger brine (or minced fresh ginger if you have it)
Mix all ingredients except coconut milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Slowly add the coconut milk until everything is smoothly blended together (obviously peanuts and spices will stand out, but the consistency should be smooth). Heat thoroughly until it begins to thicken, but do not boil.
Recipe idea: over Udon noodles and sauteed vegetables is AMAZING. This would also be good on da cheap over a bed of ramen with some green onions snipped on top. I could also see this being a wonderful chicken topping. I especially like that I can use my Indian spices and my Japanese food together. <3
Any Thai recipes/suggestions?
Sunday, May 15, 2011
You Can Curry Anything
When I was in college, I smugly looked down my nose at most of the students who frequented the dorm kitchens. I had been cooking in the Old Southern meat and three tradition since I could reach the stove, and most of these girls had...um...not. Ever. I first realized this when, while hanging out in the kitchen with a friend or two, a girl put some water to cook her dinner in a big metal pot, then asked me if I thought it would fit in the microwave. If you don't get why I nearly fainted, this blog may not be for you. (Hint: it has nothing to do with the size of the large METAL pot.) The other was when I found scorch/melt marks on the bottom of my microwave plastic cookware, which I had left in a marked box in the kitchen. With competition like this, my future beloved had nothing to worry about from me in the kitchen department. I could make a mean biscuit and gravy, anything Italian, and fry chicken like there's no tomorrow.
Then I asked my boyfriend what his favorite meal was, and all my pride came crashing down around me.
Curry.
What? I'd never even tried curry. Specifically, he likes spicy Indian and Nepali curry, it was what he ate every meal growing up. There are apparently spinach, vegetable, meat, and potato curries, too. This isn't some side dish, it's a way of life kind of food, like my Southern meat and three. To me, this was devastating. I had no idea there were other mindsets about serving food, eating food, preparing food, besides the one I had grown up with. So, I soon began experimenting.
In order to offer him curry for his birthday, I had to buy pre-packaged stuff under careful supervision and prepare it according to package directions. This was akin to being bottle fed again on the humiliation scale. I visited an Indian restaurant for the first time and tasted a few different things, all of which made my face want to explode. But I liked it. I tasted his mom's curry and got a few lessons from her. She said that everyone's curry was different, so like varying my mom's biscuit recipe, I could get a feel for curry and learn, with just a few spices of my own.
And I did. It took me a little while, a lot of feedback, and a ruined shirt or two, but I can make a pretty kick-butt potato curry, chicken and veggie curry, and palak paneer (spinach and cheese curry). I can make them mild or super spicy, and all very flavorful. And you can, too. Here's how:
The simplest way to make curry involves garam masala, turmeric, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add hot chilis or crushed red pepper to heat it up, garnish with cheese and/or yogurt or sour cream to cool it down. If you know there is no way you will have access to a health food store or Indian grocery store or Asian market in the near future, garam masala can be made from easy-to-find spices here: http://indianfood.about.com/od/masalarecipes/r/garammasala.htm. It smells wonderful and is a tasty addition to tea or baked apples, as well as sprinkled on roasted meat and vegetables for an Indian flair without the mess of curry.
Indian Spices are key, but they don't make the curry. I've heard that they were used first to disguise the flavor of rotting meat, since India isn't exactly known for quality. But honestly, the better your ingredients, the better your curry. I strongly suggest using fresh vegetables at the very least, organic if you can afford it. Someone familiar with fresh food can taste a difference. A good olive oil also helps, at least extra virgin if not first cold pressed.
1. Chop your veggies, begin with an onion and a clove or two of minced garlic, sautee in the bottom of your curry pot (a decent sized soup pot) in about 1/3 cup of olive oil. (some good ones are: broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, potatoes, and pretty much anything taking up space in your refrigerator)
2. Go ahead and cook any meat in the pot now, but remove it before you add the vegetables.
3. Add a teaspoon of salt now. Add the other veggies when the onion turns translucent. Cook until barely tender.
4. Add a can or about a pint fresh/home canned of crushed tomatoes. For more heat, use Rotel tomatoes. If the mixture is not soupy and thin, add another. If it still isn't soupy, add water or chicken broth until it becomes soupy. Add back any meat you removed earlier.
5. Add about 1/4 cup garam masala and 1/8 cup turmeric (yes, it's a lot. It's supposed to be.) Add pepper or red peppers depending on how much heat you can take. Let simmer until it thickens to chili thickness. Serve hot over rice (especially Basmati rice) with optional Naan (bread) and sour cream or yogurt and cheese to garnish.
Then I asked my boyfriend what his favorite meal was, and all my pride came crashing down around me.
Curry.
What? I'd never even tried curry. Specifically, he likes spicy Indian and Nepali curry, it was what he ate every meal growing up. There are apparently spinach, vegetable, meat, and potato curries, too. This isn't some side dish, it's a way of life kind of food, like my Southern meat and three. To me, this was devastating. I had no idea there were other mindsets about serving food, eating food, preparing food, besides the one I had grown up with. So, I soon began experimenting.
In order to offer him curry for his birthday, I had to buy pre-packaged stuff under careful supervision and prepare it according to package directions. This was akin to being bottle fed again on the humiliation scale. I visited an Indian restaurant for the first time and tasted a few different things, all of which made my face want to explode. But I liked it. I tasted his mom's curry and got a few lessons from her. She said that everyone's curry was different, so like varying my mom's biscuit recipe, I could get a feel for curry and learn, with just a few spices of my own.
And I did. It took me a little while, a lot of feedback, and a ruined shirt or two, but I can make a pretty kick-butt potato curry, chicken and veggie curry, and palak paneer (spinach and cheese curry). I can make them mild or super spicy, and all very flavorful. And you can, too. Here's how:
The simplest way to make curry involves garam masala, turmeric, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add hot chilis or crushed red pepper to heat it up, garnish with cheese and/or yogurt or sour cream to cool it down. If you know there is no way you will have access to a health food store or Indian grocery store or Asian market in the near future, garam masala can be made from easy-to-find spices here: http://indianfood.about.com/od/masalarecipes/r/garammasala.htm. It smells wonderful and is a tasty addition to tea or baked apples, as well as sprinkled on roasted meat and vegetables for an Indian flair without the mess of curry.
Indian Spices are key, but they don't make the curry. I've heard that they were used first to disguise the flavor of rotting meat, since India isn't exactly known for quality. But honestly, the better your ingredients, the better your curry. I strongly suggest using fresh vegetables at the very least, organic if you can afford it. Someone familiar with fresh food can taste a difference. A good olive oil also helps, at least extra virgin if not first cold pressed.
1. Chop your veggies, begin with an onion and a clove or two of minced garlic, sautee in the bottom of your curry pot (a decent sized soup pot) in about 1/3 cup of olive oil. (some good ones are: broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, potatoes, and pretty much anything taking up space in your refrigerator)
2. Go ahead and cook any meat in the pot now, but remove it before you add the vegetables.
3. Add a teaspoon of salt now. Add the other veggies when the onion turns translucent. Cook until barely tender.
4. Add a can or about a pint fresh/home canned of crushed tomatoes. For more heat, use Rotel tomatoes. If the mixture is not soupy and thin, add another. If it still isn't soupy, add water or chicken broth until it becomes soupy. Add back any meat you removed earlier.
5. Add about 1/4 cup garam masala and 1/8 cup turmeric (yes, it's a lot. It's supposed to be.) Add pepper or red peppers depending on how much heat you can take. Let simmer until it thickens to chili thickness. Serve hot over rice (especially Basmati rice) with optional Naan (bread) and sour cream or yogurt and cheese to garnish.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
High-maintenance seed baby
http://www.wikihow.com/Plant-an-Avocado-Tree
I am officially trying this. I have my avocado pit and toothpicks suspended delicately in a Hpnotiq glass. The guacamole was fantastic. To celebrate, I'll post my recipe:
Easy guacamole:
1 avocado
1 Tablespoon salsa or picante sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 green onion or shallot, snipped
1 spritz of lemon or lime juice
To easily peel and chop the avocado, see this: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_cut_and_peel_an_avocado/ or remove the peel instead of scooping out the inside. Up to you.
Really, most of guacamole making is preferential. Some like it spicy, some chunky, so the making is going to differ from person to person. In general, mush the avocado and mix with everything else to taste. Some like cilantro in it. I don't particularly like cilantro, so I don't use it.
I am officially trying this. I have my avocado pit and toothpicks suspended delicately in a Hpnotiq glass. The guacamole was fantastic. To celebrate, I'll post my recipe:
Easy guacamole:
1 avocado
1 Tablespoon salsa or picante sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 green onion or shallot, snipped
1 spritz of lemon or lime juice
To easily peel and chop the avocado, see this: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_cut_and_peel_an_avocado/ or remove the peel instead of scooping out the inside. Up to you.
Really, most of guacamole making is preferential. Some like it spicy, some chunky, so the making is going to differ from person to person. In general, mush the avocado and mix with everything else to taste. Some like cilantro in it. I don't particularly like cilantro, so I don't use it.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Pest Control
http://www.walletpop.com/2011/
In addition to this, I have also read that pouring grits on an ant bed (don't wet the ant bed as it defeats the purpose) will have similar results. I've been trying to get rid of roaches for quite some time now, using all sorts of methods to little avail. I'm on the brink of calling in a pro, but I hate the nasty chemicals everywhere almost as much as I hate the bugs. No, I take that back. The bugs are worse. Not saying the methods haven't killed tons of bugs, it's just the bugs keep coming back.
Help out, everybody...what are some good ol' methods for getting rid of pests without spending a ton or giving yourself seizures?
In addition to this, I have also read that pouring grits on an ant bed (don't wet the ant bed as it defeats the purpose) will have similar results. I've been trying to get rid of roaches for quite some time now, using all sorts of methods to little avail. I'm on the brink of calling in a pro, but I hate the nasty chemicals everywhere almost as much as I hate the bugs. No, I take that back. The bugs are worse. Not saying the methods haven't killed tons of bugs, it's just the bugs keep coming back.
Help out, everybody...what are some good ol' methods for getting rid of pests without spending a ton or giving yourself seizures?
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