Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts

June 17, 2015

Flipit Ashley: How to Preserve your Herbs


This year, I have managed to successfully kill all of the herbs on my balcony garden except my parsley, which has somehow thrived. It means that I have to buy fresh herbs from the supermarket, which is expensive especially if you use herbs regularly in your cooking. You can forget about buying the plants – I’m pretty sure they are designed to die within two weeks.

August 16, 2013

How to Reuse & Recycle Glass Jars

via From Gardners 2 Bergers

Hey Girls! If you've been keeping up with my social media feeds (FB, Tweet, Instagram), then you know the hubs and I are driving cross country from corner to corner of the US! That's Washington state to Florida, baby! We hit the open road a week ago and our first stop was Flaming Gorge. It's a gorgeous body of water nestled in red canyons. Puppers caught themselves a wild salmon...well, Zack caught it an puppers smelled it before it was sent back to its watery home!

June 28, 2012

➷ Homemade Vanilla Extract + Printable ➹


I had an interesting morning yesterday. It all started at 11am, when I got a call from my hubby, Z.
"I feel so dirty," he shouted into the phone before I could even say "Hello?" Surprised, my eyebrows raised and I could feel my eyes widen with fear, before he clarified with, "I just bought a big bottle of Brandy from the liquor store!" I waited a moment more, a smile pressing on my lips. "I've never bought liquor," he shouted. Now I'm laughing, I waited for his rantings to end. But then I learn that my husband, who served 6 years in the Marines, has never walked into a liquor store and purchased anything alcoholic, especially not hard booze.
It was no surprise to me {or anyone else with a heartbeat} when he explained how strangely everyone looked at him as he picked up the large, brandy bottle, all hunched over it, checking over his shoulder nervously, as he shouted at the clerk, "HERE'S MY ID!!!" Simultaneously he presses his thick, black-rimmed, "crazy man" glasses back up his nose.




Apparently the clerk checked it, as the "Hunchback of Berger Dame," snatched the brown, paper bagged bottle up, HISSED, and scurried out of the store. Pressing my number on auto dial, he was shouting, "I FEEL SO DIRTY," running to the Jeep. Ah... my hubby! Step back ladies, he's all mine;-) Such. A. Ham. 
Anyway, it's not my usual post day- but I thought I'd share the little gift I'd just whipped up. The idea's not unique- I saw pics all over Pinterest at Christmas time- but I thought I'd share my version along with some labels I made- for YOU. 





What You Need: 
Brandy or Vodka
Funky Bottles
Vanilla Beans- I found mine through Amazon
Funnel
Labels


Making the extract is beyond easy. Some tutorials say to cut open the bean, while others say to just throw them in whole. The flavor is in the seeds, inside the bean- So I guess, do what you think is best.

 I kept mine whole. For my bottles, I put a few beans in each one. Fill the rest of the bottle with brandy or vodka. I heard brandy will taste better- so I went with that.
The mixture needs to cure or set for about 6 weeks {or more} before the rich bean's flavor will extract. Use it before that and you'll just be getting drunk! ;-)
 Store the bottles in a cool and dark place, like a closet, while it brews. Which is also a funny story, because as we closed the closet door, my panicked husband threw his hands up in the air and said, "Great, now were closet drinkers." I bit my lip trying not to laugh, but then he chased that with (no pun intended), "It's such a slippery slope." I couldn't help it, I lost it and laughed so hard my ribs hurt.




I found a few downloadable labels online, then adapted one into what I wanted.  
 
You can PRINT YOUR OWN, if you want to!






 
 
I added a "to" & "from" section on the label for those of you giving them as gifts- like me. If you don't need that part- just cut on the line instead, leaving that section out. I think these make super gifts- that's probably why they were all over Pinterest! {hee, hee}
 
 
One of the reasons this is also a great DIY and present is that the beans are reusable. They will actually keep for years! When your bottle is 1/3 full, you can add some more alcohol and keep an ongoing supply. 
It's basically a 1 time cost. Because of this and that we are giving them away, I invested in some gourmet vanilla beans. Pretty sweet, huh? 
 
*I made sure to add the directions for refilling onto the label- that way recipients know exactly what they're getting and what to do with it.






My little grandma is back in town- so I'm having a great week showing her the sights and playing lots of Scrabble. 






bloggerdinnerbutton
If you live here in Utah- make sure you check out the dinner that Lindsay {Southern Lovely} and I have put together. Tons of great sponsors have don't FREE SWAG for the attendees!! {YAY!} 
I hope YOU can come!!
 


June 22, 2011

✥Cake Pots for Self Reliance {Visiting Teaching}✥

This post is a quickie I wanted to get out before the stinkin' month is over!
But sorry Ladies, I just got my visiting teaching done today! 
This month's message is on Self Reliance.
I had a thought that gardening is a HUGE part of self reliance. But instead of giving the girls a potted plant, I thought little cakes with icing and crumbled cookies that look like dirt would be perfect and maybe give a seed packet, too.
Here's what you wanna do to make the cake pots:
(1) Clean the pots and let them air dry
(2) Mix up the cake batter
(3) Cut parchment paper into circles and cover the hole at the bottom of the pot




(4) Oil the inside of the pots
(5) Cook for 40 to 45 minutes-they needed that long { My advice is to rotate the pots half way through. They wanted to cook better on the outsides of the pots. }
 

(6) Throw chocolate cookies in the food processor
(7) Ice the cakes one at a time once they are cooled
(8) Immediately sprinkle the chocolate crumbs on the iced cakes




Once you've done all that you can move onto the seed packets. I was a total copycat and just googled for one. You can check out this awesome one from Kristin called SeeMeVT. I didn't do a thing to it, just printed it out on green paper. Kristin did an awesome job and the scripture she chose was the same one for this month's lesson, so it was perfect!!

 For my seed packets I decided sprinkles would be the perfect "seed."
I love how this project all came together and the girls loved it too!


I party HERE-here




June 17, 2011

✥Happy HOMEMADE Birthday✥

Just a short little post to share with you the birthday present for my Mom.
I did a Happy Homemade Birthday themed day.
Some cupcakes with homemade cream cheese frosting-yum.
Here's the frosting recipe (it is delish!):

Cream Cheese Frosting     

Ingredients

  • 4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract.

For the cupcakes I used a box mix. But a little while back I discovered you could make cake with only a mix and 10 ounces of diet soda{no eggs, oil, or water!}. The cake turns out moist and basically perfect. The cake only has the fat that was in the mix originally- isn't that great! You have to try it.
Just right click to save to computer...or drag onto your desk top.
Got these awesome free cupcake toppers from Yesterday on Tuesday, they were for mother's day but I knew they'd be perfect for my Mom's birthday. By the way she hearts birds.

Then I bought a square vase from Ikea and did the mercury glass finish I perfected in the Crate & Barrel lamps I copied, check there for the full tutorial.

I really wanted to post it so that you could see the inside of the vase.
This is what it looks like when you paint the inside with gold to wear away the glass paint in places. Where you see the gold real thick on the inside is the place where the mirror paint has been worn off. I hope that makes sense.
And lastly, if you go to the craft store you can buy 20 cards for $10. They come blank, ready to be colored or whatever you want. Pretty perfect for those of you with extensive stamp collections and some time on your hands.


Hope you liked the happy homemade birthday-It was fun to do something more personalized.
Have a great weekend!
I party HERE-