I'm Moving

Just to let you all know, I'm moving October 3rd and may be busy after that settling in to the new place. And looking for a job. In the mean time, I'll try to post a bit in order to make up for any lost reading.

Fred Gwynne's Secret Identity

If you've ever watched Pet Sematary, you're familiar with the cute old man played by Fred Gwynne.

He also played Herman Munster in the 60s TV show, The Munsters. He even wrote a few children's books .. who knew?

Baking Soda Tips

I really loathe cleaning and housework in general, specifically the smell of cleansing chemicals like bleach and disinfectant sprays. In no way am I one of those 'go green' nazis that yell at you if you use chemicals. For me, I just wish to avoid that disgusting stench. Plus, my apartment has horrible ventilation and having your place reek all day and sear your lungs is awful. So I decided to search for cleaning (and any other useful) tips that involve baking soda, one of the cheapest multi-use items around.

One of my goals this summer was to make some headway on my reading list which just happened to include a book I found at my local library .. Baking Soda: Over 500 Fabulous, Fun and Frugal Uses You've Probably Never Thought Of by Vicki Lansky. While I won't type out the whole book, I'm posting a few tips that I plan on using personally:

- Give cutting boards regular, deep cleaning to keep them free from contamination. Spread baking soda over the surface, then sprinkle liberally with vinegar. Let the bubbles do their thing, then rinse with hot water.

- Remove odors from plastic refrigerator food storage containers. Fill them with very hot water, add 1 tablespoon baking soda, a few drops liquid detergent and 1 tablespoon vinegar. Let set for 5 to 15 minutes-maybe even overnight-before rinsing clean.

- Neutralize odors in a kitchen garbage can by sprinkling baking soda in the bottom of the can before you insert a plastic liner.

- Add 2 tablespoons baking soda to your bath water and you won't have to worry about ring-around-the-tub! Your bath water will be soft, too.

- Soak dirty mops and rags in a solution of 4 tablespoons baking soda to 1 quart water after washing dirt out, to get rid of residue smells. Rinse and let dry.

- Place more than one open box of baking soda in an area where you want to remove the smell of mothballs.

- Help remove stale mothball odors from clothes by adding 1/2 cup baking soda to the rinse water.

- Rinse pool chlorine out of bathing suits in a sink full of water to which you've added 1 tablespoon baking soda

- Drop combs and brushes in the sink to soak in a solution of hot water and 1/4 cup baking soda. Watch the dirt fizz away.

- Avoid allergic reactions to bubble baths and still pamper yourself at bath time by mixing 1 cup baking soda and 1 1/4 cup baby oil in the bath water. It softens skin and helps avoid winter dry-skin itchies.

- Be aware that a sunburn can be soothed by soaking in lukewarm bath water to which you've added a generous amount-from a half to a whole box of baking soda.

- Sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, in a cup of water and rinse your mouth as you would with any mouthwash. It will remove onion or garlic scents as well as morning mouth, and leave you with a fresh-as opposed to artificial-taste in your mouth. By changing the pH balance in your mouth, it makes it a less friendly environment for many bacteria.

For Chris

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A blog post that has the potential to be wrong on so many levels. I'll just leave it at that. Happy Birthday, Chris :)

Baking Brownies

I made these brownies from scratch on Friday. I decided to try this new thing where instead of buying candy to add to the gigantic stash in my night table drawer, I would just bake something once a week in order to save on the grocery bill.

This recipe comes from Amy Sedaris' I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence, which has got to be the greatest cookbook in existence. Her recipes are easy to follow and so delicious. I did a previous entry on her Yogurt Spa-Ghetti which is so yummy!

Here is the brownie recipe verbatim:

Aunt Joyce's Brownies

4 eggs, beaten until fluffy

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 12-oz. package chocolate chips

2/3 cup unsalted butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Melt together chips and butter. Beat eggs and add in everything else.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Optional: Press pecans on top, down into dough.

Delicious goop! This is after I melted the butter and chocolate chips in the microwave. If I had a double boiler, you bet your sweet bippy I'd be using that! The chocolate I used was Guittard, which is the only chocolate I use in baking (I'm not a snob, it's the only cheap chocolate at the grocery store).
I ended up sifting all the dry ingredients because after beating those eggs, I just wanted to be finished with these brownies. When you beat the eggs, it's comparable to making merengue, be sure to spend plenty of time (this would have been great to use a KitchenAid mixer if I actually owned one). Notice how my sifter is KitchenAid? A girl can dream.
When I poured everything into this 8-inch pan, it had the consistency of pulled taffy. Like my floral apron?
When this fab thing comes out of the oven it is super fluffy but after it cools, the middle falls. Kind of like a souffle.
After this has cooled for an hour or two, I drape a thin kitchen towel over the top to help keep it extra soft and fluffy. I ended up refrigerating this after I ate my first piece (it ends up yielding 9 pieces) because the middle is so fudgy and oozy, I wanted it to stay in place. I'm sure it would taste good heated and served with a scoop of ice cream. Yum!

Sushi Dinner

Finally, finally! I've been waiting to ingest this eel roll for a little over a month and a half now. It was so worth it too, I savored every delicious, sweet bite.

Eel is actually quite mild and I advise you sushi-eaters to try it if you haven't already. And this is coming from someone who ate sushi once or twice in her entire life and is now converted.
Left to right: tempura shrimp roll, California roll, eel roll (sorry, we ate most of this before I could get a decent picture). My favorite tip I've heard for California roll is to mix wasabi and soy sauce together (I go heavy on the soy sauce because wasabi is too hot for me) and dip the roll in it.

To be honest, I wasn't too fond of the tempura shrimp roll. I just don't want tempura on my sushi is all. Ah well, now I've only got to try the inari roll, which is fried tofu, and the California masago, which is basically a California roll but with masago (fish) added.

Kitchen Junk

I'm obsessed with kitchen stuff so .. just thought I would share the things that I feel is my right to own (yet don't. Le sigh).
These are corncob-shaped cornbread molds. I just need them. Not sure why because I don't even like cornbread. The kitsch factor increases my lusty-ness over them. I feel it necessary to display them prominently in my future kitchen even though they will probably never be used.
Baking is one of my favorite hobbies and I tend to stare these KitchenAid mixers down whenever I pass them in a department store. Notice the blue color and take note. Turquoise or aqua cookware is kind of my thing. And by kind of my thing, I mean constantly going over in my head on how to decorate my future kitchen and stock it with so many turquoise items that it's just, I don't know, ridiculous? It's a sickness. But a delightful, delirious sickness that sends me into a cheery fit.
This is turquoise cookware by Le Creuset. It's expensive-ish. It's turquoise. Therefore, I need it.
This is a turquoise colander by Paula Deen. It is most likely not very expensive yet it's more upscale than your average grocery store emergency aisle fixture. It is turquoise. So it's floating somewhere in my imaginary kitchen near the imaginary white porcelain sink.
And of course, a cake stand. I felt the pink would be a nice contrast. And it's so dainty! I've always had this idea of a perfect dining room, fabulous dark wood sideboard/table/chairs, beautiful hand polished silverware and serving accoutrements, and a cake stand.

It's always bothered me that dining rooms are now combined with the living/sitting room into one big room .. that opens into the kitchen. STOP IT! A separate dining room should be brought back to regular use, along with a separate room for a kitchen and a butler's pantry, and those darned disappearing mantelpieces! Seriously, I'm just going to have to buy a house that is a 1930s original to get what I want. But I feel that me making such a statement is, well, a given.