New recipes in the works.... taking stock and a challenge

 I've been working up a storm in the kitchen recently.  Cleaning, organizing, taking inventory of our "stock", and just doing a little overhauling.  This will give you an general idea of what I've been dealing with.

These are my spice drawers.  The right hand one does contain a single packaged spice mix and our boxed jello (however I also have "bulk" jello in mason jars in the cabinets above as well.)  But the rest is herbs and spices!  There are two thin green boxes stacked on top of each other which contain small quantities of of "potent" spices, things where you only need a pinch or two.
  
This will give you a better idea of the contents of the left drawer.  The tin box is what I pull out and use on an almost daily basis.
                       

And here is the overflow on the top shelf of the cabinet above my spice drawers and I have one of those plastic lazy susan's in my cabinet next to the stove filled with extracts, small jars of powdered mushrooms and veggies, finishing salts, and "ethnic" salts/flavorings.

I also have various sized jars filled with dried mushrooms, candied citrus peels, various dried peppers, dried veggies,  grains, a minimum of 4 types of vinegars, cooking "spirits",  and numerous oils (some out and some in the fridge.)

What "normal" person has all these ingredients?  (and has NO oregano!  how did that happen??)  Did I mention that I use this stuff?  Not ALL on a daily basis but often enough.  And that I also grow my own herbs?  We only had a couple of "staples" in our garden last year but since it is a work in progress more will be added this year.

Because of all the craziness in the kitchen everything else if being neglected, not that my it matters to the rest of my family.  They are loving the cooking frenzy going on! :)  So today a new recipe in is the works... if it comes out as planned it will be the backbone for many a dish to include but not limited to: green chile, BBQ pork, pork "taquitos", and pork fried rice.

I thought you might get a kick out of this shot!  Yes I have to stand a "stool" in order to take photos from above.  You can say I am a bit "elevationally" challenged!  ha ha!  Don't you love my winter Crocs?  I know I do!  I think I will be heartbroken when the liners wear out in them as I wear them ALL winter long!

Have a great day!  Keep checking back and I'll keep you updated on the cooking "challenge" around here.  Oh did I not mention that?  Sorry!! I have challenged myself to use what we have on hand and use "real" ingredients.  NO purchases except for the following: milk, eggs, cheese, fresh and frozen produce (we are running low on veggies.. AGAIN!)  No meat, no baked goods, no cereal, no pasta, nothing!  Peanut butter is also part of the exception as we go through it.  How long will this "challenge" last?  I have no idea.... until we (I) am in the habit of using what we have and not buying needlessly.  The purpose?  To get back in the habit of using whole foods and to eliminate most processed foods from our diet.  To improve our overall eating habits. Yes I say most as there are some things that my husband has requested I do not make from scratch, peanut butter, Nutella,  and certain crackers.  So I will honor his wishes and will continue to purchase these items.  I will say aside from the peanut butter, the Nutella and crackers are items we do NOT eat on a regular basis.  So if you would like to join me, drop me a line.  If I can figure out how to do it I may even turn this into a Linky party with week or biweekly updates.

Have a wonderful week!

Linky Followers widget addition...

I am sure all of you know by now that Google Friend Connect is being retired as of 1 March 2012.  From what I understand this retirement is now across the board, for blogger and all other platforms.  Google is encouraging everyone to sign up for Google+, something I am just not ready for at this point in time.  So in the interim I have decided to add the Linky Followers widget.   Please do sign up as I would hate to see you go simply due to an operational change by Google (trust me I have lost contact with too many friends due to a computer crash which "ate" all my contact data, etc....)

Its really easy to sign up, follow and read blogs through this new widget.

I know the question of can my Google Friends Connect followers be automatically moved over? NO. Google won’t allow access to those accounts which is a good thing because you ought not allow someone else to sign you up for a new service.   It needs to be voluntary.  You need to ask your Google Friends Connect friends (and all your blog readers) to follow you using Linky Followers but its really easy, quick and free?  I think you'll love the tool.  It appears  to be a good way to organize and follow the blogs you love.

And most importantly I want to thank you all for faithfully following along!  I really doubt this blog will turn into one of those HUGE blogs followed by the multitudes and do you know what?  I am completely and totally fine with that!  Do you know why?  Because in all honesty this blog is a journey for me taking me places I've never been,  a window that the Lord has used to open my eyes to many things, causing me to examine myself inwardly and outwardly and to consider the possibilities.  A tool to teach me  "...in whatsoever state I am , therewith tobe content." Philippians 4:11  So I would like to say thank you and hope you will continue to follow along! 

Searching for the perfect chocolate cake.... success!

  These past couple of weeks have been filled with the search for the perfect chocolate cake and chocolate frosting with the approach of birthdays.  You see my "baby", my first born will be turning 18 and I want to make an extra special cake.  Lo and behold but what should appear in my e-mail one day but this article... Deep, Dark Chocolate Cookies, Cakes, & Favorite Recipes Recipe Roundup from The Kitchn.  The rootbeer chocolate bundt cake was a big hit (sorry no pictures as they devoured it before I even got the camera out) but it just wasn't what I wanted.  In fact what I really want is a slice of the most divine chocolate truffle cake from The French Street Bakery and Cafe, but alas they have gone out of business.  Oh be still my breaking heart, as I never could get them to part with the recipe... even when I explained we were living in Alaska.  (the poor girl was so confused when I called and asked about the recipe.  she even told me all i had to do was call in a day before i came in so that they would have one made for me... she never did truly understand that we lived 4000 miles away at the time... hmm i wonder if that may have had something to do with it...) 

Well the Vegan Chocolate Ginger Orange Cupcakes by Sarah Rae sounded delicious (and they are! and you should them with lime zest/juice...)  but if you know me at all you know I just can't leave things alone.  So here is my adaptation inspired by Sarah Rae's Vegan Chocolate Ginger Orange Cupcakes as I know my family does NOT like orange or ginger in their chocolate. 

(the batter is even delicious!)

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

makes 24 standard cupcakes

3 cups all purpose flour (organic unbleached preferably) (I substitute out 1/2 c for whole wheat flour)

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (the darker the better!)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups natural cane sugar
1 2/3 cups cold freshly brewed coffee (or water)
1 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon orange juice (I eliminated & added an additional tbsp of coffee)
4 tablespoons cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix all dry ingredients and whisk to combine. Add water, oil, vanilla, and orange juice. Stir to combine. Add vinegar and stir quickly to combine. It will be slightly foamy and lighter in color. Once the mix turns slightly darker again you know all the vinegar has been mixed in. Now pour it into muffin tins (or even two cake pans.) Bake for 15 minutes for standard sized cupcakes. Allow to sit in pan for 5 minutes, remove and place on wire rack until completely cool.

Frosting (non-vegan)

1 cup butter, softened (use vegan margarine for a vegan frosting)
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon orange juice (can substitute with coffee)
4 tablespoon milk (or cold freshly brewed coffee) (use almond milk for a vegan frosting)
1/2 cup cocoa powder + 2 heaping tablespoons Ghirardelli chocolate mocha powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

Blend butter in a mixer until creamy, add in powdered sugar and mix to combine. Add remaining ingredients and mix until creamy consistency. You're ready to eat! Refrigerate any unused frosting for up to a week.

 (one of the few remaining... its been dark all day and the lighting is horrible but I knew I had to hurry before all the cupcakes were gone!)

And the highest praise came from my son to be 18 year old... "Mom, whatever you do, DO NOT change anything about this frosting or these cupcakes!"  So for his birthday it will be this cake with with a bit of the  frosting lightened with whipping cream between the two layers of cake with fresh berries and chocolate leaves as a garnish.

linking to:  





     

Oil rubbed bronze hardware-a makeover

The sweet "Tuscan" kitchen has new hardware!!!  Yes you read correctly Oil rubbed bronze!!  I know, I know that is so last year but you know what I love it.  When we first moved in I was not crazy about the cabinet handles so we changed them out... brass to nickel/chrome.  Now don't get me wrong because I still ADORE chrome... always have, always will.  Something about that shiny, silvery finish just leaves me all a twitter but hey a girl can broaden her horizons.  Enter cast iron, wrought iron, and oil rubbed bronze.  I don't something about them just scream old world and as we all know that is me... a touch of the "old world", a bit of "modern" and just a smidgeon of country, hmm make that "old world country."  So this week on a whim I decided to drop into Hobby Lobby on a day when I had a splitting headache and could hardly see straight (yes it was mainly because I was in desperate need of a soda but hey it is just across the street so why not stop in, right?)  Then what to my wandering eyes should appear... a sign for 50% off all drawer pulls and knobs.  Were my eyes deceiving me?  Were those really "wrought iron" cup drawer pulls?

So a few minutes later I walked out of the store with these beauties.

And these!

A few days later the chrome was transformed to this!

"Tuscan" kitchen progress

As you all know I decided to take Donna up on her Picture Perfect Room Challenge.  The kitchen is coming on smashingly!  Have you ever noticed when you start a project it has a tendency to lead to more projects???  That is exactly what happened in the kitchen.  I got the bead board wallpaper on the cabinets only to discover the drawers now look lacking.

So do you think the drawers need pulls? or should they be left as it?

I am thinking something along the lines of these... from Restoration Hardware

or either one of these from Lowe's

Gatehouse Oil-rubbed bronze

or 

Gatehouse Satin Nickel

a close-up of the bead board wall paper

Yes it still needs to be painted but that will have to wait until it is warm enough to leave the windows open.

                                              

I still have a few things to hang such as these.....

They have all been in both our families for as long as we can remember and I always try to hang them in the kitchen or dining room.

Hmm, do you think someone wants some jello?! ha ha!

Maple glazed oven roasted carrots

Well the weather has turned again.... Grey, fluctuating between snow, sleet, and ice but NO wind!  Basically a peaceful winter day.  In other words the perfect day for getting caught up on the self perpetuating laundry, oh yeah we have teenagers so maybe its not really self perpetuating, ha ha!  And the perfect day for roasting vegetables.

From this to....

to

 Maple glazed oven roasted carrots

and

And yes I am sharing recipes.... Trust me these are so EASY, in fact I didn't even follow a recipe but I did make notes so that I could pass it on to my mom... she LIKES recipes!  I'm a throw it in, fly by the seat of my pants while hoping for the best kinda gal!!  Yes there have been a few flops but not too often.

Maple glazed oven roasted carrots

2 lbs carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

1 to 2 TBSP olive oil

1/2 to 1 tsp coarse sea salt

3 or 4 sprigs fresh lemon thyme or 1 tsp dried lemon thyme

Preheat oven to 400F.

Place carrots in a large rimmed cookie sheet.  

Drizzle with olive oil.  

Sprinkle on seasonings and toss to coat.

Roast carrots for approximately 20 minutes. Stirring occasionally. (juicy carrots can take a bit longer)

2 TBSP maple syrup... preferably grade B

Transfer carrots from pan into bowl.

Drizzle maple syrup over carrots and toss to coat.

Return to pan.

Return to oven and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, stirring once or twice in the process.

Serve hot or allow to cool for later use.

Servings: 4 to 6 (but I'm not really sure because I can't keep out of them!)

"Plain" roasted carrots

2 lbs of carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

1 to 2 TBSP olive oil

sea salt and ground pepper, to taste

Bake at 400F for approximately 20 minutes depending on moisture content of carrots.  Juicy carrots take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes longer.

I hope you enjoy!!

Now I'm off to fold some more laundry!  Have a wonderful day!

The towel dilemma... hand towels converted to bath towels

Well its a grey, blustery day today here in middle America which seemed like a perfect to get a bit of work done in the house.  Vacuuming, laundry, searching down missing towels.... Does anyone else seem to have the same dilemma? You buy a certain number of towels and over time they disappear, only to have other towels you NEVER even purchased take the place of some of them?  And then to top it off you discover you have more hand towels than you even knew?  I am pretty sure I know WHO the culprits are and have come up with a viable solution but in the mean time we were running short on towels.  Between weight lifting class, wrestling practice, swim practice, and the daily trip to the gym (hubby up at the base, not me...) I have come to realize a certain number of towels is required but simply do NOT want to spend the money to purchase said towels knowing full well that they will be sorely abused!!  So my solution... turn hand towels and wash cloths into bath towels!!  Yes all of those mismatched and long forsaken hand towels now have a new lease on life. (and trust me I have no earthly idea where we got some of these hand towels or wash cloths because they are colors that  I have NEVER used!) (okay the plain brown one is one we bought... but the brown leopard print, umm NO IDEA, it just turned up one day!)

A small portion of our stash of hand towels and wash cloths

AND.....

(I have no idea what happened but the shadows today make it look like there are stains on the towels... yes our name is on one with permanent ink but that is it.)

A towel fit for wrestling practice, swim practice, the gym, track practice, and any place else teen boys venture! (like camping!)