Free Finds!

Until I moved into my boyfriend's downtown, mid century condo a few months ago, he enjoyed a very minimalist home. No nic-nacs, decorative pillows, plants, knitted pot holders, etc. When I moved in, I brought all of that with me, but was also looking for additional decorative items but didn't want to break the bank. I've always enjoyed vintage shopping and flea market finds, but I was looking for something even cheaper....free! I knew just where to look....my parents garage. Look at the great things I found!

1. Cute Mirrored Tray

My Great Aunt used to use this tray to display her perfumes. I also snagged the cute pillow cases while cleaning out her closets a few years ago. 2. Lazy Susan

My parents received this as a wedding gift over 42 years ago! I love it!

3. Coat Hook

The hook was in my parents garage and used to hold my Dad's big, black, ugly rain jacket. Every time it would rain, he would go to the garage, get the jacket, boots, hat and shovel and would wade through the rising waters to clear the drains. It wasn't until high school that I realized that other Dad's did not do this. Our house was the only one that needed such attention. I still have no idea why these fixes were not made on days it wasn't raining or what caused these massive outdoor floods, but the fixes were made about 10 years ago and there has not been a need for the rain coat or hook since, so I snagged it.

4. Entry Table

My Grandma used this table to hold laundry detergent and bleach. There were several stains and scratches but with a little sanding, a coat of white paint, a glass top and a cute piece of paper from Kate's, it looks great as an entry table for keys, mail, change, etc.

5. Cutting Board and Martini Shaker

The cutting board is the perfect size for the bar to cut limes for cocktails. The martini shaker was another wedding gift!

Orange Juice or Cake?

I am lucky enough to know one of the few people in Southern California with a fruit tree in their back yard. I was at their house this weekend for a 40th birthday party and asked the host if I could take home a few oranges. He is nice, generous guy to begin with, but after consuming several birthday Basil Hayden's, he was extra generous and sent me home with a huge bag!

My good friend Whitney just gave me the book, "A Homemade Life" by Molly Wizenberg. I haven't made anything yet from the book but there are so many good recipes that I want to try! There is a recipe for Vanilla Bean Buttermilk Cake with Glazed Oranges and Creme Fraiche. I can either continue to use the oranges for fresh squeezed orange juice and try to offset the weight gain from the bread and butter I have been eating, or I can try making the cake with the glazed oranges. Hmmm...For those of us that live in cities and don't have a yard or any space to grow anything, we have to head to the farmer's market. I happen to live by a really cute one!

Don't get too jealous of us out here in California though. We've got a 12.4% Unemployment rate and our state is bankrupt! But, we do have good produce and sun year round!

Good Guacamole

I hate to rub it in to my readers in DC and elsewhere on the east coast (I do yet have these readers, but I expect they will come around) that are currently experiencing the worst blizzard in 90 years, but, it is another warm, sunny day in Southern California.

Another benefit of living in Southern California, aside from the great weather, is that Hass avocados are in season and wonderful year round. I picked up two avocados yesterday for a $1 each.

I wouldn't think a recipe is necessary for guacamole, but I have to remember, not everyone lives in California and eats Mexican food several times a week. Being the wonderful person that my Mom is, each year she hosts several college choir students from Minnesota as they travel the country singing in different churches. The first night they arrive she makes a nice, big dinner. This year she made tacos with all the fixings. When she placed the guacamole on the table they didn't touch it. They also looked at the black, roundish items in her fruit bowl and asked what they were. Avocados she said. They had never heard of them. Suddenly, feeling like an exotic chef, my Mom explained to the Mid Westerners about avocados, how they grow, ways to prepare them and what they go well with.

My sister lives on Long Island in New York and once made nachos for her kids and all the neighbor kids that were over playing at her house. The other kids went home and told their parents of the wonderful nachos they had had. My sister later received a phone call from a mother asking for the recipe. "Recipe?" she said. "Chips and melted cheese. Salsa on the side if you want."

Because of these two instances, I now realize that some may appreciate a recipe.

Everyone has their own recipe for guacamole, this is how I usually make it.

2-3 ripe hass avocados
2 tablespoon of cilantro
1/4 cup white onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon of course salt (taste and add more if you like)
1 or 2 tomatoes, depending on size
1 glove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons diced jalapenos (some omit this)
a pinch of pepper
a squeeze of lime
Mix all together in a Molcajete. Some people mix the onions, cilantro, salt and garlic together first and then add the rest, that works well. Mix and serve.
I seldom have anything from the "itos" family in my house, so I made my own chips. Cut tortillas in triangles, spray a baking sheet with cooking spray or oil and lay tortilla triangles flat on baking sheet. Spray the top of the tortillas. Bake in the oven for about 5-7 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and lightly salt.

While eating this today, all I could think about was Rosa Mexicano's in New York. I love this restaurant! My sister and I plan our days in Manhattan so that we are in a neighborhood that has a Rosa's around lunch time. The LA location opened this year, and it's good, but just not quite the same as New York. Have one of their delicious pomagranate margaritas and you will be feeling good and happy. Have two and you will be feeling really good and spend much more money then you intended to at Kate's Paperie down the street. Dont miss either next time you are in NYC.

Whole Wheat Bread

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated.

I'm new to blogging and not sure exactly what the rules are for posting other people's recipes. To be safe, I give all credit to Cook's Illustrated. I don't add my own twist to this recipe, just follow the directions and you will get an excellent, perfect, round loaf of delicious bread. Seeing as I have zero followers, no RSS feeds and the only person that has visited my blog is the same person that gave me this recipe, I don't anticipate that I will be whisked away to Folsom anytime soon.

I stayed away from this recipe for a while because I didn't have a fancy dutch oven. I tried it a deep dish saute pan (I don't have one of those either but I borrowed from a friend and have been using it for months) and it works great.

There are several versions of this bread. Regular, rye, olive-rosemary-parmesan, whole wheat and cranberry-pecan. Below is the recipe for whole wheat.

Almost No-Knead Whole Wheat Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons table salt

3/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons water

1/4 cup mild flavored lager

1 tablespoon white vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

1. Whisk flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix water and honey. Add to large bowl. Add beer and vinegar. Using a rubber spatula, fold mixture, scrapping up dry flour from bottom of the bowl until a shaggy ball forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 8-18 hours.

2. Lay a 12 x 18 inch sheet of parchment paper inside a 10 inch skillet and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

3. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead 10-15 times. Shape dough into a ball by pulling the edges into the middle. Transfer dough seam-side down to the parchment-lined skillet and spray surface of dough with a nonstick cooking spray. (I actually skip the 10 inch skillet step and just put it in the 4 qt. saute pan I cook it in. See picture below).

4. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 2 hours.

5. About 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position and place 8 qt. dutch oven on rack and heat oven to 500 degrees. Lightly flour top of dough and with a sharp knife, make a 6 inch long, 1/2 inch deep slit along top of dough in an X shape. Remove pot from oven, reduce oven temp to 425 degrees and pick up dough in the parchment paper and place in dutch oven. Cover. Place in oven. Bake covered for 30 minutes.

6. Remove lid and continue to bake for 25-30 minutes uncovered until loaf is golden brown and instant read thermometer inserted into the center registers 210 degrees.

7. Remove bread from pot, transfer to a wire rack and cool at room temperature, about 2 hours.

Eat large quantities of this bread and herb butter (recipe below) and you are sure to have that spare tire you've always dreamed of in no time!

Compound Butter

Adapted from Alton Brown/Food Network's compound butter recipe

Compound butter is basically butter with added ingredients for extra flavor. The varieties are endless. Today I made an herb butter. The original recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of chives and one tablespoon of sage, plus rosemary and thyme. I didn't have chives or sage so I used rosemary, thyme and garlic.

Ingredients:

1 lb. butter (4 sticks) softened

3 -4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon of thyme, chopped

1 tablespoon of rosemary, chopped

1 glove garlic, minced

Equipment: Stand up mixer and food processor.

Directions:

1. Cut the butter into small cubes and place in the working bowl of the stand up mixer.

2. Place oil and herbs in the food processor and blend until herbs have colored the oil, about 1-2 minutes.

3. Using the whisk attachment on your stand up mixer, using a medium speed, whip the butter until soft and light, about 5-7 minutes.

4. Add herb oil to butter and beat another 2 minutes.

It will look like this:

5. Remove the butter and spoon onto parchment paper and roll into a log. Chill for 2 hours before serving. Enjoy!

Great Mid Century Find

Check out these great chairs I got at a vintage shop for $5 each! Unfortunately they only had three, but for $5 I couldn't pass them up. I think they will be cute around our modern pedestal table and the window bench seat that my boyfriend plans to build for additional seating/storage. Now I just need some cute fabric to reupholster them with. I wish I didn't live 400 miles away from the best fabric store ever!