Runaway October » Homemaking

Maybe this is why?

Katie — Sat, 08 May 2010 16:00:56 +0000

Maybe I’ve got a vegetable jungle because of Rowan’s green thumb?

He’s pretty proud of that garden.

Do you have any special helpers in your garden?

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It’s not a garden, It’s a Jungle.

Katie — Sat, 08 May 2010 13:00:58 +0000

Remember the planter boxes my oh so accommodating husband built for me? These guys?

And that this is what they looked like when I planted them?

Wanna guess what they look like now? No, really. Think about it.

This is Arizona, it’s hot. And as much as I hate to admit it, gardening is a never-ending ‘craft’. You can’t just plant it and forget about it, like you can with most of the crafts I do. I’m not so great at ongoing projects.

Which is why I’m quite tickled (and slightly overwhelmed) that they now look like this:

April 23rd, Box 1

Notice how they’re still pretty much within their beds and you can sort of see all the individual plants.

April 23rd, Box 2

Yeah.

Not anymore.

May7th

It’s a jungle.

Which is awesome, but Holey Moley.

How am I ever going to tame this thing?

I’m really hoping that we’ll get some veggies off of it before the heat makes them go dormant.

Also thinking about putting some kind of shade over it.

I learned awhile back that if the night temps don’t get low enough, it doesn’t matter what I do, the tomatoes will stop fruiting, so hurry hurry little tomatoes.

Heirloom Brandywine Tomatoes

Sweet 100 Cherry Tomatoes

Roma Tomatoes, possibly. Hard to tell in there.

Jalapeño

Crookneck Squash

Green Bush Beans

The cucumbers and honeydew are coming along nicely.

We picked some radishes the other night. I think they were crowded.

And there’s lot of herbs too. Cilantro, Dill, Lemon Thyme, Spearmint, Stevia, Chocolate Basil, Chocolate Mint (I can never seem to pass up all the chocolate ones).

There’s carrots buried in there too.

Maybe next year, I wont pack in so many tomatoes.

How does your garden grow this year?

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Recipe: Outback’s Shrimp Enfuego

Katie — Thu, 06 May 2010 19:40:49 +0000

Whenever anyone asks me where I’d like to eat for dinner, the first thing to pops into my head is Outback Steakhouse. I’ve had Prime Rib from many many places but I prefer it from Outback by far. I guess you could call me an Outback Prime Rib fangirl, I’ll never tire of eating there!

Not too long ago I decided I needed to change things up and order something different. I settled on the Shrimp En Fuego. It’s a lovely combination of Shrimp, Mushrooms and Tomatoes in a spicy cream sauce served over an open baked potato. Yum, huh? It seems that when we eat out, I almost always get something heavy in mushrooms since Matt refuses to eat them.

(Photo by Sarah Caron)

Since we don’t often eat out, I decided I’d try and wing it at home after finding a great sale on shrimp. The Internets weren’t so helpful for a recipe, so I gathered all the tips I could find about it and dived in. I can’t tell you how alike it is compared to Outback’s because I don’t have the option to try them next to eat other, but it turned out really good. Spicy.

Shrimp En Fuego

Serves 4, doubles perfectly

Ingredients:

4 Baked potatoes, preferably with the skin salted and oiled
1 jar Cheesy Ragu Classic Alfredo Sauce (I was lazy and didn’t make my own)
1 Tablespoon Chipotle Chili Powder
3 tablespoon Chili Garlic Sauce (Commonly called Rooster Sauce, and found in the ethnic food section of most markets)
1 pound fresh shrimp (frozen may be substituted, if thawed), deveined and tails removed.
1 pound mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
Salt and Pepper
1 package cherry tomatoes, halved.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Scrub potatoes and poke with a fork a couple times. Rub the outsides with olive oil then roll or rub with medium grind sea salt. Place in oven and cook until desired doneness.
When potatoes are almost done, combine alfredo sauce, chipotle powder, and chili garlic sauce in a medium sauce pan. Warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
If you wish, the amount of chipotle and chili sauce can be adjusted now. I had to keep the spices low or The Hubs and The Boys wouldn’t eat it.
My food photography isn't very good, but you get the idea.
While sauce is warming, sauté shrimp, mushrooms and minced garlic over medium high heat until shrimp is pink and mushrooms are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.
If you wish, you can add the sauce to the pan of shrimp and mushrooms, mixing everything together, or keep them separate. Place open potato on a plate, layer with shrimp and mushrooms, then sauce with halved tomatoes on top. (It looks better that way. For the ease of feeding my horde I mix everything together.)
Don’t forget to turn off the oven.
Enjoy!

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Can Jam March: Alliums – Red Onion Jam

Katie — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:16:49 +0000

Our theme for this month was Alliums, courtesy of Small Measure. Leeks, Onions, Shallots, Garlic, Ramps, Rakkyo, Scallions, Chives, etc. My first thought was ‘What the heck can I can that will actually get eaten?’ I remembered trying an onion jelly a few years back, warmed and poured over melted Brie cheese, which was delicious. I had thought at the time that it would be yummy over porkchops. So, I settled on an old standby – Jam.

I found the recipe on Michelle’s blog, Big Black Dog, and followed it to a “T”, no adaptations. Well, I did add one kitchen helper, since he was very sad that Big Brudder got to go to Grandma’s house without him today.

Ignore the Oreo schmutz on his face. He's having a rough day.

Zesty Red Onion Jelly*

Generously shared by Michelle of Big Black Dog.

Makes 3 half-pint jars

Ingredients:

1 cup diced red onion
2 tsp lemon zest
3/4 cup white vinegar
3 cups granulated sugar
1 pouch (85 ml [3 fl oz]) liquid pectin

Preparation:

Cut red onion into 1/8 inch slices; cut slices into 1/4 inch dice.
Measure 1 cup into a large, deep stainless steel saucepan.
Zest lemon and measure 2 tsp into saucepan.
Stir in vinegar and sugar.
Over high heat, bring mixture to a full, roiling boil. Stirring constantly, boil hard 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Immediately stir in one pouch Liquid Pectin, mixing well.
Pour jelly into a hot jar, dividing solids equally among jars and filling each jar to within 1/4 inch of top rim (head space). Wipe jar rims. Center lids on jars & screw on bands till fingertight.
Process in Hot Water Bath for 10 minutes.
Cool for about 30 minutes, then, when lids are concave but jelly is still hot, carefully invert & twist jars to distribute solids throughout jelly. (Do not let them remain upside down for long periods. It is said that doing so can cause food particles to creep into the threads and cause spoilage.) Repeat as needed during the cooling/setting time, until solids are nicely suspended.

* I think this is considered a jam because the onions have not been strained out, but I could be wrong!

It was a simple quick recipe, the longest part was the 10 minute Hot Water Bath.

The color is gorgeous. I used Michelle’s trick of heating the onion skins in the required vinegar to get the dye out of them. Onions are rare at Farmer’s Markets here and I had no clue how old the ones I bought were, but I’d imagine the color from fresh onions would be more vibrant.

She also specified that short inversion times or twisting were necessary to distribute the solids, but mine seemed to have no troubles at all. I just made sure to listen for the “schick” of the lids sealing (onions have low ph so good canning practices are vital) and called it done!

Lessons learned:

Don’t try to smell onions cooking in vinegar. Burns the sinuses. LOL
I’ve had a few people frown when I invert my jars while they cool. It was just what I’ve been told and have seen done. Apparently this is a no-no because food particles can work their way into the threads and possibly cause spoilage. Thankfully I’ve never had issues before, but now I know.

What did you make for the Can Jam? Or what have you canned lately?

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Garden

Katie — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:58:49 +0000

I think this is the earliest in the year that I’ve had a tan. But for good reason! My garden beds are pretty much done except for a few tweaks here and there.

My wonderful husband was patient enough to put these together for me yesterday. I only nagged a little.

Once done, we ran to Home Depot and picked out soil. Not organic, but you make due with what you have. We chose to use the old “2 of everything” plan for soil since we didn’t have the resources to go pick up all the free “fertilizer” to be found on Craigslist.

Adding soil is serious business in need of double supervision. Obviously.

Nice butt! -wolf whistle-

All filed and ready to plant. There was an irrigation drip line running under the pre-existing garden that we were unaware of. Matt sliced it with the shovel when turning over the dirt. We decided to bring it up and use it instead of just replacing the leaky section. I still need to run lines to each plant, but that’s easy. That’s what the black tubing is running along the fence.

Here’s what I’ve got to work with. I had planned on using mainly seeds, but I was worried that by the time they sprouted and had started to set fruit that the heat would make them go dormant.

Planted. Yay! We’ve got 13 tomato plants (Roma, Heirloom Brandywine and Super 100 Cherries), Carrots, Bush Beans, Dill, and Leeks in one bed. Pickling Cucumbers, Jalapenos, Habaneros, Cowhorn Peppers, Crookneck Squash, Honeydew, Stevia, Cinnamon Basil, Spearmint and Cilantro in the other.

I still need to plant these strawberries in a container. They seem to do better when I can move them around as needed. And find someone who wants to provide these honeydews with a home.

See that birdfeeder on the left there? My MIL bought it for me.

So there’s my spring garden for the year. At this rate I wont even need sunscreen when we tube down the river this year.

What are you planting this year?

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Want: Urban Chickens

Katie — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:53:43 +0000

Little chicken by hddod

Awhile back I may have mentioned that I was thinking of getting some chickens to keep in the backyard. Then we got Fable, the Great Dane pup, and I let it slide. Who really needs to worry about a giant puppy and chicks at the same time?

Now that we’ve moved, Fable’s trained and we have more room, I’ve been thinking about it again. Especially when I fry up some over-easy eggs and the yolks are light yellow. At Best. Sadly, we got a newsletter from our HOA with a friendly little reminder that all livestock – cows, horses, sheep, pigs, chickens, goats, etc – are against county zoning and the HOA CC&Rs. With a little bit of research I learned that the county does not ban any pets. They only ban livestock in certain areas, which is any animal that you use for a profit, such as selling meat, milk, eggs, and other products. So now it’s all on the HOA. I’ve heard one other little lonely voice in the HOA forums saying they’d like chickens, so it’s us against them. Ha!

Dancing Chicken by joyrex

There are so many reasons to keep your own chickens:

Insect control – What do chickens do all day? They hunt, peck and scratch for bugs. I’ve seen a pack of hens decimate a scorpion in seconds flat, as well.
Snake control – Same as with a scorpion. While they may not eat a snake, they sure make him sorry for coming around.
Fertilizer – Chicken manure fertilizer is one of the highest in nutrients of all the animal fertilizers.
Eggs, of course – According to Robin Ripley, “In contrast to factory farm eggs, eggs from backyard chickens have 25 percent more vitamin E, a third more vitamin A and 75 percent more beta carotene [hence why homegrown egg yolks are bright orange and so tasty]. They also have significantly more omega-3 fatty acids than factory farmed eggs.”
Local Food – What better way to know where your food comes from? You know what your chickens are eating, so you know what’s in your eggs and meat as well.
Responsibility and Life Cycles – Teaching children where food comes from and how to care for pets is vital. Caring for chickens is easier than a dog or cat.

Red Hen by jamesmorton

A few concerns I’ve heard are that chickens are noisy, attract bugs and predators, and spread avian flu. Roosters can certainly be annoying, but many urban chicken keepers choose not to keep roosters. Roosters are not required for hens to produce eggs and many people wont keep them out of respect for their neighbors. An unkempt chicken coop can certainly attract flies, but like any pet maintenance is important to the wellbeing of your flock. Backyard chickens are unlikely to contract avian flu in the first place. They do not “socialize” with sick fowl and are kept in better conditions so the likelihood of catching any disease is low.

Hens & Chicks at Sprouting Horn by ehoyer

Useful links for Urban Chickens:

Hens by Amanda Rudkin

News articles on Urban Chickens:

King of the coop by ninjaclutz

Books on Chicken Keeping:

Keep Chickens! Tending Small Flocks in Cities, Suburbs, and Other Small Spaces, by Barbara Kilarski
Living with Chickens: Everything You Need to Know to Raise Your Own Backyard Flock, by Jay Rossier
The Joy of Keeping Chickens: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Poultry for Fun or Profit, by Jennifer Megyesi
Chickens In Your Backyard: A Beginner’s Guide, by Rick Luttmann
Barnyard in Your Backyard: A Beginner’s Guide to Raising Chickens, Ducks, Geese, Rabbits, Goats, Sheep, and Cows, by Gail Damerow
City Chicks: Keeping Micro-flocks of Chickens as Garden Helpers, Compost Makers, Bio-reyclers, and Local Food Producers, by Patricia Foreman
The Urban Hen: A Practical Guide to Keeping Poultry in a Town or City, by Paul Peacock

Chicks in a Box by samdogs

So there’s some information for you. I’ll keep you updated on how things go with the HOA.

Would you keep Urban Chickens? Why or Why not?

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Confession.

Katie — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:42:54 +0000

I have a confession. I can be quite a slob.

The evidence: Exhibit A – My craft room, The SMOR (sewing machine operations room), about 24 hours ago.

When we bought this house, we knew one of the rooms would be used for hobbies. Unfortunately, we had been using the dining room table previously so we had no furniture to set up in there. About the time we moved, I was given a very nice cutting table and sewing machine desk. They came from a family friend who had passed away. Sadly, she was a heavy smoker and smoked in her hobby room. The tables just ooze nicotine.

My father in law convinced me that I shouldn’t try to paint them, as they’re covered in melamine. While I’m fairly certain I would be able to repaint them, new furniture would be easiest. Of course I decided this after trying to clean one of the tables with bleach (Bleck!) and ruining a perfectly good skirt.

So I struck a deal with my husband. If I clean the craft room, could we build new furniture for the room? He agreed, poor sap.

So this is where it stands currently. Not “clean” per se, but everything has been gone through and sorted and I found all kinds of stuff I had forgotten about! Score. My M.O. was to grab what I needed, take it down stairs to craft, bag/box up whatever was left and toss it in the SMOR when I was done. Bad bad. I had at least 15 empty boxes when I was done, and double that amount of bags to recycle

(I still need to vacuum, obviously.)

This is the table I want we’ll be making, free plans courtesy of Knock Off Wood. It’ll go well with the IKEA Expedit bookcase that’s in there currently.

I know that if I had a vehicle right now, me and the boys would be terrorizing Home Depot and Lowe’s. I’ll keep you posted on our progress. I’m super excited to make my own craft furniture, and for so much less than Pottery Barn too!

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(Not so) Wordless Wednesday

Katie — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 05:41:07 +0000

These little guys were willing to brave the Arizona rain to get at the pinecone bird feeders the boys and I made the other day. The first batch sat for a week or two before the birds found them, but now it’s like Templeton at the Fair.

And this little boy was willing to brave the rain too!

Good thing Fable was keeping this spot warm for him.

Finished this scarf today. Can’t decide if I like it nor not? It’s at least 8 foot long, and I’m not even going to mention what my brother said about it. Well, maybe. He compared it to parts of the female anatomy. What a butthead.

Made my first batch of Sourdough Bread ever today. It’s so yummy. One of the least finnicky breads I’ve worked with, surprisingly.

I went to check my email and one of the loaves was hoovered down in seconds flat. Mostly by aforementioned brother. Butthead.

There is NO Typo. :/

And last, but not least, I finally got around to packaging up a Valentine’s Day Surprise for a certain special someone. Do you know who you are?

And this concludes our semi-rainy Wednesday stuck at home. Tell me about yours!

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Please don’t forget to vote for me daily, if you would be so kind. Thank you!

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Can Jam January: Citrus – Marmalade Recipes Galore

Katie — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 06:33:13 +0000

It’s time for my participation blog post for Tigress’ Can Jam. I actually have two recipes to share with you.

Our theme for January was Citrus, which is awesome because Citrus is so abundant here in Arizona this time of year.

Arizona Citrus

This first recipe was just a standby while I waited for my vanilla beans to arrive for my REAL recipe for the can jam.

Citrus Marmalade

: Citrus rinds

Makes 6 half-pint jars

Ingredients:

4 meduim oranges
2 medium lemons
2 1⁄2 cups water
1⁄8 teaspoon baking soda
61⁄2 cups sugar
1 package powered pectin
1⁄4 teaspoon butter

Preparation:

Wash your hands, utensils, and work surfaces, and then prepare the ingredients.
Sterilize empty canning jars by placing them upright on rack in water bath canner and covering them with hot water to 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Boil 10 minutes. At altitudes higher than 1000 ft, boil the jars an additional 1 minute for each additional 1000 ft elevation. Keep the jars hot and drain just prior to filling.
Wash the oranges and lemons throughly, I use a scrub brush. Remove the rind in quarters from oranges and lemons. Trim and discard half of the albedo (white flesh attached to the rind). Or all of it if you don’t want all the bitterness associated with it.
Thinly slice the rinds and place in a 4-quart (4 L) saucepan.
Mix the rinds with water and baking soda. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Citrus segments
While the rinds are cooking, remove seeds from the peeled oranges and lemons, and finely chop the fruit, saving the juice. Set aside.
Add reserved fruit and juice to the cooked rind mixture. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.
Measure exactly 4 cups of cooked fruit and rind mixture (a box of pectin is sufficient to gel this much liquid). Use a slotted spoon to make sure you get all of the fruit and rind, and then use the juice to bring the total volume up to 4 cups. Discard any leftover juice or use it in another recipe that calls for orange juice.
Add pectin and butter or margarine to the measured fruit. The butter or margarine reduces foaming during the cooking process.
Bring the mixture to a vigorous boil that cannot be stirred down, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute.
Add sugar to the mixture. Return to a boil that cannot be stirred down, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Prepare two-piece canning lids according to manufacturer’s recommendations.
Ladle hot marmalade into hot, sterile jars, leaving 1⁄4 inch of headspace.
Wipe the jars and the rim with a clean cloth or towel, place a clean prepared lid on the rim, and screw the ring band on finger-tight.
Process in a boiling waterbath canner for 5 minutes (altitudes of up to 1000 ft). (Increase processing time by 1 minute for every additional 1000 ft in altitude.)
Let jars cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours, then check seals by pressing the middle of the lid with your finger. If the lid springs back, then the jar is not sealed and must be refrigerated. Properly sealed jars can be stored in a dark, cool place.

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Now on to my official Citrus Can Jam entry.

This recipe is adapted from a recipe I found on Epicurious.com. It’s one of my very favorite marmalades to date. It starts as a sweet lemonade taste , ending as a warm backnote of vanilla.

: Pardon the yucky light. It’s actually been raining in Arizona!

Meyer Lemon and Vanilla Bean Marmalade
Makes 6 half-pint jars

Ingredients:

1 1/4 pounds Meyer lemons
5 cups water
5 1/2 cups (about) sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
Pinch of salt

Preparation:

Wash your hands, utensils, and work surfaces, and then prepare the ingredients.
Sterilize empty canning jars by placing them upright on rack in water bath canner and covering them with hot water to 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Boil 10 minutes. At altitudes higher than 1000 ft, boil the jars an additional 1 minute for each additional 1000 ft elevation. Keep the jars hot and drain just prior to filling.
Wash the lemons throughly, I use a scrub brush.
Zest lemons. The more pith you zest, the more bitter your marmalade will be.
Peel and discard unwanted pith. While working on a plate to catch juices, chop lemons finely. Discard seeds.
Pack enough lemons, zest and any juice to measure 2 1/2 cups. Transfer to large nonreactive pot.
Add 5 cups water; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand uncovered overnight.
Measure lemon mixture (there should be about 5 1/2 cups). Return to same pot.
Add equal amount of sugar (about 5 1/2 cups).
Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Add pinch of salt.
Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Attach clip-on candy thermometer.
Maintaining active boil and adjusting heat to prevent boiling over, cook until temperature reaches 230°F, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Prepare two-piece canning lids according to manufacturer’s recommendations.
Ladle hot marmalade into hot, sterile jars, leaving 1⁄4 inch of headspace.
Wipe the jars and the rim with a clean cloth or towel, place a clean prepared lid on the rim, and screw the ring band on finger-tight.
Process in a boiling waterbath canner for 5 minutes (altitudes of up to 1000 ft). (Increase processing time by 1 minute for every additional 1000 ft in altitude.)
Let jars cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours, then check seals by pressing the middle of the lid with your finger. If the lid springs back, then the jar is not sealed and must be refrigerated. Properly sealed jars can be stored in a dark, cool place.

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Now… Who’s bring the fresh homemade bread so we can eat up all this marmalade?

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Chalkcloth Table Topper

Katie — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:27:10 +0000

Not too long ago we bought two sets of the Svala table and chairs from IKEA for our “playroom”. I was kinda bummed they came unfinished but then got excited that I could do whatever I wanted with them. I mean, who doesn’t dream of this perfectly coordinated playroom that looks like it came straight out of a Pottery Barn or Montessori guidebook?

Svala from Ikea

The kids had different ideas, as usual. Within a few days they had scribbled all over the top with crayons and who-knows-what. Even the table legs had been colored on. I’m totally psyched with the creativity coming from these two little boys. Psyched. Too bad they didn’t consult me first because their artwork totally didn’t go with my Pottery Barn color schemes.

Daisy Dreams laminated cotton

I recently came across a tutorial for an oilcloth table cover from Twig & Thistle, that I thought was a great idea for the boys’ workspace. I had some oilcloth that I picked up from my favoritest fabric coop but it was very girly.

Then it occured to me that I had a yard of chalkcloth in my stash. That would be perfect! It’s fairly water resistant for spills and such, and I could whip out the chalks when the kids were bored. Score!

Kathleen’s tutorial included adorable little scallops around the edge, which I thought would be okay if done in a nice manly color, like black

: Please ignore the mess.

chalkcloth. But man, chalkcloth is hard to work with. I didn’t have quite enough to cover both tables separately so I did one cover for both tables pushed together.

I ended up just having straight edges with a little bit of decorative stitching. I think it turned out pretty good and the kids have throughly tested it. Heck I even ended up eating on it last night because we had a HUGE crowd to feed last night.

Chalkcloth Table Topper

Pretty Colors

This is serious business...

(Declan was still napping)

So if you’re in need of something similar head on over to Twig & Thistle for the exact instructions. Or you can check out Oilcloth Addict for a no sew custom chalkcloth table topper, also.

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