Quick! The Baby's napping-Must go faster!

And this is me today! Off I go to get myself another cup. So little time, so much to do!

Recipe: Curry Carrot Soup with Croutons

Recently I tried out a new recipe that I feel needs sharing. I am always on the lookout for recipes that can be meals without meat (we do eat meat, but we're trying to cut back). I had been saving this one for a while from a magazine, wanting to try it because it was so....different. Well, thankfully this was "different" in a delicious way ;). This soup is perfect for now (as in end of summer/ beginning of fall). It doesn't take long to cook, so you won't be hovering over a hot stove all day. And this is on the healthier side while not being very expensive to make-double bonus! *Note: do not skip the croutons! They're wonderful!
Here it is in all it's glory:

Curry Carrot Soup with Croutons
Serves 4

Croutons:
1 small loaf focaccia (or whatever bread you have on hand-I had Italian bread), cut into small cubes, about 2 cups total
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Soup:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound carrots, chopped into rough chunks, about 4 cups
Optional: frozen peas defrosted (about 1/2 cup)
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery (I did not have celery on hand, so substituted celery seed)
3 cloves galic, minced
1 tablespoon curry powder
4-5 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 lime (or lime juice)
kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Croutons:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Toss bread cubes with olive oil, curry powder, and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper in a small bowl. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown and crunchy.
Soup:
Heat oil in a large dutch over or a heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Add the onions and celery, and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add the garlic and curry powder, and cook about 1 more minute, or until fragrant.
Add 4 cups of chicken stock to deglaze the bottom of the pot, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Bring to a simmer; cover and cook for 30 minutes or until carrots are very tender when pierced. Carefully transfer to a blender and puree until smooth, working in batches as necessary. Put back in the pot to warm, and add peas if desired. Season to taste with a squeeze of lime juice and a few pinches of salt. Add additional broth if you want the soup to be thinner.
Divide soup among bowls and garnish with croutons and ground black pepper. Serve!

We Made It

Just a quick update so as not to leave everyone hanging- we made it through! Our power was out from about 8 AM to 7:30 PM. Thank you CL& P workers! You're amazing! We expected not to get power back until at least the next day. From what I'm seeing it looks like Connecticut made out pretty well in all of this. It could have been much worse. We were downgraded from a level 1 to a "Tropical Storm". My family lives in more central CT and on fairly raised ground, so flooding shouldn't be a problem for us, but I know it is and will continue to be a problem in other areas of the state. The other positive note- it's sunny and pretty today-perfect for all of the cleanup that will be taking place.

A Hurricane's a'comin!

Yep, there's a hurricane coming my way! I'm in central Connecticut, so we'll see what happens. The storm is projected to pass about ten miles from us. I'm a California girl, so "hurricane" is are not my in my vocabulary, but I suppose it's about to be! My husband joked and invited someone over to our "hurricane Irene party" saying we were having "Rib-Eye of the storm steaks" and drinking "hurricanes". No, but seriously, we're prepared. Bottled water has been purchased. Groceries are stocked. The cell-phones are charged. Flashlights and candles are sitting out, and I'll be filling up the bathtub shortly. Good luck to everyone on the East Coast! You will be in our prayers.

Thrift Store Find- Mini Dresser Refurbished

I love taking something ugly and turning it into something fabulous, and just this last weekend I had the opportunity to exercise my creative muscles. We have company coming to stay with us for the next ten days, and we I decided that we needed to have some kind of small dresser for storage, so our guests don't have to live out of their suitcases the entire time. Thus began the hunt! Maybe, I was just looking for an excuse to buy something to play with, but nevertheless, it worked. For a whopping $19.50, we found an old Ethan Allen three-drawer dresser. The piece was actually in great shape overall. The drawers pulled out nicely, and the finish was in good shape. Aside from the molding around the top, it wasn't very beat-up; it was just a little homely. The top had white plastic molding that was broken with pieces missing. Yuck. Why would you put plastic on a wood piece?! Shame on you, Ethan Allen! But, nevertheless, it was the perfect size and had potential. Here she be in all her whiteness..... 



The plastic molding has already been pulled off the edges in this pic. See below.



This is the plastic molding that was coming off

We pried the rest of the plastic crap off the sides, and then purchased at Lowe's some decorative molding in the lumber area to put around it. My husband used wood glue to attach it, followed by a few small nails.


Here is the unfinished wood molding replacing the plastic garbage

Now, you'll notice that the piece is an off-white color. Not horrible, but boring. The hardware just looked dated on it in that drab color. So, I purchased a can of spray paint in a creamy yellow color and went postal on that beezy. It took a couple coats to fully cover over the white, but there it was....yellow. Next came the fun part-Glazing. Using a single bottle of dark brown Americana paint (from Michael's for about $1) and a cheapo brush from Lowe's (for about $1.70), I got to work.


Painting sections of moulding with the brown

Using your brush, paint on the dark color, making sure to get it in all of the grooves. You want to glaze in small sections so the paint doesn't dry before you get a chance to wipe it off. Then take a large rag and wipe, wipe, wipe. You may want a dry rag and a damp one, to make sure you can get as much off as you want. I just played with it, wiping in various directions until I was happy.



Trim, painted in yellow and glazed

Once, I had the trim done, I started working on the drawer faces.

Going in the direction of the grain, I brushed on a few strokes of the brown. Then I wiped with my dry rag back and forth and in a circular motion.

Notice the color difference on this now, from the lighter yellow on the picture above. This is called "'I'm a woman now' Yellow".

Then I concentrated on the edges of the dresser, where I imagined their would be more "wear" and put more paint there, wiping it off. I did this all over the dresser until I was happy ;). Once the glazing was done, I added a couple thin coats of glaze in a semi-gloss from Minwax with a sponge brush (also from Lowe's).
And here she is in all her lovely, lady yellowness!



I ended up keeping the original hardware. It wasn't so bad once the color was different.



Side frofile, notice the glazing



Top- there were a couple spots I would have changed, but it dried too quickly. Gives it character though right?



Ta da! I'm uber happy with this dresser! I think it's one of my favorite pieces of furniture now. It's amazing how a $1 bottle of paint can make such a big difference too. I hope I've inspired you! 
 


Sewing Project-How to make a Versatile Pillowcase Summer Top

The title of this post is a tad misleading, but it’s not dishonest, honest ;).  The reason I say that is because I called this a “pillowcase top”, but I didn’t make this out of a pillowcase. I titled it that because, as you’ll see, you could easily make this top for yourself out of a pillowcase. Initially that’s what I set out to do, but I couldn’t find any pillowcases in my house I liked enough to wear, so I used some fabric I had laying around. This fabric is something I’d been given and had been saving initially for my daughter. I figured I’d use it to make her something, but my daughter has TON of clothes, so me spending time making her yet, one more article of clothing she may or may not get a chance to wear seemed silly.  But me, well, I could always use another clothing item! So, here’s what I came up with. If you don’t know a thing about sewing, or don’t have access to a sewing machine, this is probably not something you’ll be able to do. If, however, you do have some basic sewing skills down, this should be fairly easy to follow.  

Here’s what you need: a pillowcase or about the same amount of fabric, a sewing machine and sewing accessories, elastic (I used ½”) , and lace or ribbon (optional)

1) Take your pillowcase, and open up all of the seams, cutting off the bottom "fold" portion. If you don't have a pillowcase like me, take your fabric (folded in half) and cut (2) rectangles similar in size to a pillowcase. You can use a t-shirt or top that fits you already as a basic guide for the length you need. Make sure to go a couple inches wider and longer for seam-allowance and the elastic, as well as just having some adjustment room. 



Rectangle of fabric cut (2)

  Step 2) Take both pieces of fabric and put them together with the wrong sides (printed side) facing each other and pin one side. This will be one of the side seams to your top. Then sew that side together. Take your half-sewn rectangle and put it on to get an idea of how much (if any) fabric needs to be cut from the other side. I personally didn't need to take any off, as I wanted mine to be a little bunchy. If it's too tight, you'll have a difficult time putting it on, and you'll have elastic pulling it all in later as well. If it's not gigantic on you, then go ahead and repeat this step on the other side, pinning and sewing that side together.

Side 1, pinned together

 Step 3) Start working on a hem on the top of your rectangle, all the way around by folding over the fabric a little bit (ironing helps this process), and then folding it over again (this time wide enough for your elastic to pass through). I used a seam gauge, but you can just eyeball it too. See step 4 and this will make more sense. You don't want the channel your elastic will pass through to have an unfinished end of fabric sticking out. It just wouldn't be as nice or hold up as well.

Measuring the first fold that will get folded under

 Step 4) This is continued from step 3. So after you folded it over about 1/4"-1/2" or so, fold it over again, closer to an inch this time (or wider than your elastic), and pin. That gap between the edge of the folded fabric and the pinned edge is going to be where your elastic will go. After you've pinned it all the way around, pick one side seam and leave a pin out of that one spot. You'll need an unsewn section to put your elastic in. I like to put a pin there sticking out a different direction to remind me as I'm sewing, so I don't accidentally sew there.

Channel for elastic pinned

 Step 5) After you've sewn your top seam, take your elastic and measure around your chest, just over your bust. Give yourself an extra inch or so, and cut it. Place a safety pin on the edge, and thread it through the gap on the side seam you left open. Make sure you secure the other end of the elastic to that seam of the top, so you don't accidentally pull it in too. Push the elastic all the way through the channel until you reach the other end you pinned outside. Safety pin the ends together and try your top on, adjusting how tight you want it by moving the safety pin around. When you get it to the desired fit (tight enough so you don't accidentally show off your girls to everyone), sew the elastic ends together, and then finish the gap in the seam you left open.

Seam sewn, elastic ready to be threaded through

 Step 6) Repeat this process (steps 3-5) for the bottom of your top. Try on your top, and play with the elastic length, and then sew it. Another great thing to do, is sew an additional couple of stitches over the elastic on both seams. This will help anchor down your elastic, so it doesn't twist on you later. That can be frustrating to fix!



Short stitch over the fabric & elastic to anchor the elastic on both side seams

  This is what your top should look like. Pardon the light exposure on this. I need a new camera.

 Step 7) This step is optional, but in my case it added a lot to my top. It's in the details! I had some lace that was vintagey that I just love, and some grosgrain ribbon-boy, do I have ribbon! Since this fabric was very sweet, and a little vintage, I thought it'd be nice to dress it up and showcase my lace! Starting at the top, and using a ruler, I secured (with pins) my lace and ribbon and played around with it, until I was happy with the spacing (also a good idea to try the top on while you're deciding where to put your trim). Then I sewed it down. I sewed the ribbon down on both sides, and the lace just down the middle of each.

 And Voila! Here is my finished project. This is a great top, because it's multi-functional. In the summer, it can be worn by itself, and in the fall and spring you can layer it with a cardigan, sweater or jacket.

What's the Deal With the Lettuce!?!?

I was recently reading a post from The Farmhouse Kitchen in which the author was mentioning that they almost always have tacos once a week because it's easy, and you usually have the ingredients on hand. For us, in California, that would have been true, but in Connecticut, I've found it's more difficult to keep fresh ingredients (specifically produce) "fresh" for long-mainly lettuce. What is it with the lettuce here?! It doesn't seem to last long at all! However, I must confess I've been slacking on using one of my secret "saving money in the kitchen" weapons. What is it? Well, if I told you it wouldn't be a secret now would it? Ok, ok. I'll spill it. My "secret saving money in the kitchen weapon" is the Progressive Lettuce Keeper. I know, rather anticlimactic, but it's awesome, and it works (and it's only $13.98 on Amazon)! It's not just for storing lettuce either. You can use it for all sorts of produce. The lettuce keeper has a little guide on the front that tells you which veggies need the vent open or closed and which need water at the bottom of the container. My favorite thing to use it for though, is lettuce. I have found my lettuce lasts significantly longer using this. And that's where the saving $ part comes in-waste in the kitchen means wasted $$. If a head of lettuce costs you $3, and you only got to use half of it before it went bad, that lettuce just turned into a $6 head! So, with that being said, I guess I'll stop grumbling and go get that puppy out of the cupboard and into the fridge ;).