Pretty in Pink

This year must be a year of firsts for me, creatively and technically. While I have made many a Roman shade in my day, I have NEVER installed them myself. If you've been following along, you've no doubt read of my fear of power tools, which I conquered mere days ago. The idea of me installing my own Romans...on 6 feet windows....seemed as likely as me draping a brightly colored, extremely heavy python around my neck at some exotic animal park for a photo. (Lest you think these pictures might suggest such an event ever taking place, it will not.) So, besides being proud of myself for actually finishing this relatively simple project, I can hardly believe that I performed a feat that was so challenging for me. (I know Shlomo and Anshel can really appreciate what I've done.) I won't say I'm on snuggling terms with my drill yet, but I do see us spending a little more time together in the future.

Crispy Parmesan Chips

My second favorite cookbook is Better Homes and Gardens New Diabetic Cookbook. If you love healthy, gourmet-ish, delicious food, this is the book for you. Today I made these yummy chips!

30 wonton wrappers

Nonstick spray coating

2 TB olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp dried basil, crushed

1/4 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese

1. Use a sharp knife to cut wonton wrappers diagonally in half to form 60 triangles. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick coating. Arrange a 1/3 of the triangles in a single layer on prepared baking sheet.
2. In a small bowl stir together the olive oil, garlic, and basil. Brush the wonton triangles lightly with some of the oil mixture; sprinkle with some of the grated cheese.
3. Bake in a 350 degree oven about 8 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining wonton triangles, oil mixture, and cheese.

Makes 60 chips (15 servings).

70 cal., 3g fat, 3mg chol., 123 mg sodium, 9g carbs, 0g fiber, 2g prot

Now, obviously, there's no limit to where you can take this recipe! I added sea salt and cracked black pepper to this specific recipe. I have a feeling you could easily go the sweet route too with a little cinna-sugar mix. You might not want to use olive oil in that case though. Blech!

So enjoy and let me know if you come up with a variation you love. Ooh, how about the spicy route? Ouch!

I finally bit the bullet

A few months ago I bought a drill. This was a huge step for me, given my fear of power tools. Although it was a huge step, it was only one step. Once I got the thing home, I put it upstairs and forgot about it. Any project requiring the use of my drill got put off.

Yesterday all of that changed! I have this thread rack that came with no holes in the back. I wanted to hang it on the wall with my other one. (This is something I've been wanting to do for about 6 years.) I finally got up the courage and drilled holes in the back of that sucker! Woo hoo! Please see pictorial storyline.

Let's Cut a Rug!

I first cut out an oval shape and did a 1/2" hem around the outside.
I laid out the fabrics so I could decide how I wanted them to look.
I first pinned the braided cord around the inner circle, and topstitched it in place. Then I attached the rectangle to the velvet by folding under a 1/2" around the edge and placing the gimp over the top. I secured it all with pins and machine stitched in place.
The outer fringe was the final touch. I pinned it in place and machine stitched it with a zigzag stitch. The whole thing went pretty smooth. The velvet is upholstery velvet, so it already has that backing on it which makes it great for a rug. Ozzy loves it! And I think it's perfect for my Red Room! So luxurious. And just about free for me! Scraps are a great thing!

Puffy Apple Oven Pancake

It's been my personal opinion, since I began baking at the tender age of 6, that Betty Crocker ROCKS! My mom had an old 1960's edition and that was my baking bible. In fact, they republished that version in the 90's and my mom gave me a copy in '97. I just checked and the edition I use all the time is from '96. Anyway, it's not super gourmet, but I can always take a basic recipe and run with it. With the advent of the internet, I often find myself using online cooking websites for recipes. But my BC cookbook is still the backbone of my culinary adventures.

This morning I was in the mood for a pancake. I don't have any pancake mix onhand, so I thought I'd see what Betty had to say on the subject. I found a yummy, big, fritter-looking recipe which I have passed over many times while perusing her book. I had some apples I needed to use, so I was excited to try this recipe out. It really turned out delicious. Except I baked it too long and have a little burnt aftertaste now. I also didn't realize it was for 2-4 people, so I tried to eat the whole thing. I'll just say I'm going to take a little break from this recipe before making it again. Next time I want to try it in my cast iron skillet.

Puffy Apple Oven Pancake oven 400 degrees. 2-4 servings

2 TB stick butter (or Blue Bonnet)

2 large eggs

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup milk

1/4 tsp salt

2 TB brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 medium baking apple

powdered sugar

1. Heat oven to 400°F. In 9-inch glass pie plate, melt butter in oven; brush butter over bottom and side of pie plate.

2. In medium bowl, beat eggs slightly with wire whisk or hand beater. Beat in flour, milk and salt just until mixed (do not overbeat).

3. Sprinkle bottom of pie plate with brown sugar and cinnamon. Arrange thinly sliced apple and pour batter into pie plate.

4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until puffy and deep golden brown. Turn pancake over onto plate immediately. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. (I also drizzled it with syrup. Yummy!)

The Time Has Come

Yes, the time has come to remove the yucky carpet in my front room. I'm going to use this room as my studio, so it will be great to sew on hardwood. It's way easier to clean up. I knew the floor was ok underneath the carpet so I wasn't expecting any surprises. Let's just say, if anything, I was pleasantly surprised with how great it looks!

Tea Dye and I

I just tea dyed my Wal-mart curtains. I actually bought the curtains at a thrift store brand new and my friend told me they were from Wal-mart. They were stark white and I don't know why I thought they would be perfect in my front room, which has no white in it. But then I thought, "Hey, can't I just dye them with tea bags?" Well, I looked up how to do it online and was disappointed to find very elaborate instructions that were way over my head (or I just didn't have the patience for). Some of them involved overnight baths, that sort of thing. No thanks. So, as commonly happens with me, I threw caution to the wind and went for it---instructionless. It turns out it could not be simpler.

I boiled about 1.5 to 2 gallons of water in my biggest pot. Once the water was boiling, I popped in 6 bags of decaf tea. Just regular Lipton. No special flavor. I kept the water boiling the whole time, but I took the bags out after about 2 minutes. Then I just dunked one curtain at a time. These are cafe' curtains, so they aren't big. I kept each curtain in for about a minute, since I wanted them to be off-white, not tan, and certainly not brown. This turned out to be the perfect amount of time. Once I rinsed them out with cold water, I put them in the dryer. It was weird how wrinkly they came out since they were a poly/cotton blend, but mostly poly. Anyway, they turned out perfect and I am very happy with the results.

Disclaimer: If you are a pro at tea dying, sorry. I'm sure this process seems silly to you. I really enjoy reinventing the wheel.