too hot....can't blog......

Seriously. I can barely move around. I think I may only eat cereal and ice cream today, and good thing I made ice cream at the beginning of the week when it was not in the mid 90's in a town (and apt.) that's not regularly air-conditioned. I made a Mexican Chocolate Ice cream out of this book:
by David Lebovitz. It's a great book of unusual but accessible recipes, and his copy is pretty funny. The "Aztec" ice cream incorporates cinnamon and cayenne pepper, and he did warn that you should add a little bit and wait, as the pepper tends to get hotter as it sits. I added the minimum amount, but he wasn't kidding. It's a bizarre sensation to eat something cold and creamy that also makes your mouth burn, but maybe it's a good thing. Hot weather locales tend to eat spicy food so they can sweat out the heat, right? Excuse me while I sit very still, lick my ice cream cone, and gently perspire.

A chicken in every pot

That's a campaign slogan that needs a comeback- maybe Edwards will adapt it to his folksy style. I've been buying small whole chickens and roasting them in the early morning when it's not too hot (no air condition in the kitchen this summer, so you've got to plan ahead). After it's done, throw it in the fridge, have it for dinner and let the leftovers roll you through the dog days of summer. I have to admit, I've been off chicken for a while simply because I work at an elementary school, and chicken seems to be the only protein (except for hot dogs) the boys will eat. During the summer, the teacher tries to keep as far away from all things school as possible. I'm back, though , and with a vengeance: it's so tasty, and you can vary it a little each time. I always jam a little butter under the skin for tenderness, and I've mixed it with fresh herbs from the city garden (plot of dirt next to the hose), gone Asian with ginger and garlic in the butter, soy sauce on top, and summery with lemon and rosemary. They're all good. After dinner, pull the meat off, boiling the carcass with some water, add any leftover rice/noodles/veg, etc. and freeze: you've got yourself a nice lunch once winter rolls around and the only thing going on in the city garden is a pile of dirty snow.

Throwaway yet Museum-Worthy

I think the tendency to stock up on condiments whenever possible is genetic, a quirk you get from your mother. I have it (well, a modified version) and felt validated to discover that those little tubs and packets cannot only save your life (a man trapped in his car in a remote location once ate Taco Bell hot sauce and ketchup for days, true story) but are also mini works of art.

They must be, because they have their own online museum. I especially like the honey, and was surprised to find that there is a Finding Nemo hot sauce...thought he would be more suited to Tartar.

For Bastille Day, Bien Fait

I'll come right out and say it: I LOVE the French. No freedom fries for this girl. They are so unapolagetically who they are, and really tres homespun in their eating and entertaining habits. Here are a few cool present ideas from our book...the opposite of cliche, they're Bien Fait (sort of French for Crafty!)

1) Instead of a tired boxed perfume set (or, heaven forbid, another freakin' scented candle,) think for five minutes and come up with an emergency kit that fits the recipient. For the person whose cell phone is always dying, get them a CellBoost charger, a phone card, and a fake candy phone. For the friend who goes on a sugar binge when things go badly, box up a selection of old-timey sweets. And, for the gal who’s always rooting through your purse for supplies, Tampax, Advil, a mini sewing kit and a versatile lipstick.

2) Handkerchiefs in a box are about the saddest gift in the world to me. They seem to murmur, "Daddy, I don't really know you enough to buy you anything you'd really want." Make them happy again by “monogramming” the same set using your computer and iron-on paper. Pithy phrases such as “This Blows” would be nice.

Why in the world would you shop at a thrift store?

Prada, Thomas Pink, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Ann Taylor, Tommy Hilfinger, Polo Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Ferragamo, Kenneth Cole, Lily Pulitzer, Pucci…am I getting all wistful about walks down Rodeo Drive, the Champs Elysées, or Fifth Avenue?

Not on your life. These brands are all trophies I’ve scored during secondhand shopping safaris, with stops at stores including Goodwill and Salvation Army.
Eww. I hear noses wrinkling. Before you let them freeze there and resign yourself to paying retail, consider this:

1) The designers who work to create the top end stuff either troll and/or send out crews to secondhand stores all the time, in search of inspiration. Kind of like pearl divers looking for treasure beneath the barnacles. Sometimes you need to hold your breath for a while, but the payoff is pretty nice.

2) What you find here will most likely, never, ever, be seen on anyone else attending the same party.

3) With vintage pieces score pieces of fashion history …and you can make up an enchanting history for them. “This is what Gran wore to the Easter Egg roll at the white house during the JFK years….”

4) The places you’re shopping probably aren’t owned by a giant, global conglomerate, but, instead, are local and often charitable, which gives you the rosy glow of helping your community.

5) By reusing and repurposing clothes that are already created, you’re an eco-warrior – but with stylish clothes.

6) You won’t just find vintage treasures…I’ve picked up many an item from a season ago, some with tags still attached. Stores and dry cleaners often distribute their extras to non-profits for the tax write off. Right on!

7) For the price of lunch and a sweater at soulless mall you can come home with bags of stuff… treasure that will cause people to stop you on the street for compliments.

Stay tuned for the secrets of savvy thrifting....

Living it up and Slumming it down

Sometimes you want to take the time to make the best possible food you can, and then there are the times when you go with what you know. This was discussed last night when I made strawberry shortcake.







no, not that one.

I was going to go with a complicated shortcake recipe, cutting in the butter, sifting, etc., but then I realized two things. 1: I didn't feel like doing all that. 2. I had Bisquick in the pantry.
So I whipped me up some Bisquick and we were enjoying the season's best in 12 min. flat. I did cull a good tip from the fancy cookbook however, mash some of the strawberries and mix in with the sliced- this way you don't have the unfortunately "slide off" problem.

The experience got us thinking, and so I'll end my post with a question, Carrie Bradshaw-style: Which foods are worth the extra effort, and which are best straight out of the box?

Catholicism and Blue Cheese

Two great things that taste great together? No, just the curious link between guilt and food. Here's the story:

Recently, I've been on a steakhouse kick: red meat for sure, but mostly that old-timey
salad of iceberg lettuce wedge and blue cheese dressing. My
sister-in-law makes a kick ass blue cheese dressing. She wrote the
recipe down for me once (I think it included soy sauce and orange
juice), but I've seen her cook and she is more of a Jackson Pollock

than a Piet Mondrian:

lots of improv and tasting, to hell with the rules. Consequently, mine has never tasted the same.
I
set out to make a new batch and figured I'd go to the gold standard:
"America's Test Kitchen" cookbook. For those not familiar, this is a
book that takes a standard recipe and tests it hundreds of times in any
permutation until it's perfect. I don't always use it because I'm often
too lazy to go through all the extra steps it will list to get that
perfection, but when I want something I know will be great, it's the
source. Plus, their blue cheese dressing recipe was easy: mash some
blue cheese, buttermilk and garlic, add sour cream and mayonnaise.
Great! Except I didn't have buttermilk, so I used regular milk, and
then realized I didn't have sour cream, so I used low fat plain yogurt,
and then crap! No mayonnaise. So I just added a little more yogurt. Let
it sit for a bit, break open the iceberg and .....it's great. Really
great. And it gets better the more it sits. So I patted myself on the
back for a job well done, "Iron Chef" style, felt slightly guilty
(Catholic upbringing) for eating blue cheese dressing at two out of
three meals a day, but put it to the back of my mind. Until itoccurred
to me: this dressing is healthy! Lots of happy yogurt cultures! Low fat
dairy! Calcium! And a little penicillin from the blue cheese!

Try it. You'll never feel bad again.

6 oz. blue cheese, crumbled
1/2c. milk
1 minced garlic clove
1/2 and little more of yogurt (plain)
2 TBSP rice vinegar (white will work too)
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
pepper.

Mash the cheese, milk and garlic to make a paste. Add everything else. Eat and feel virtuous.

More deviling

Pickle juice is also a good addition to any mayo-based treat. Try it in potato salad, egg salad, macaroni salad- you get the idea.
For the devilish type: Some other additions to try are curry (good for your fanciest tailgates), bacon (good on anything), or mashed avocado for a little health boost/guacamole spin.

Shamed, and Deviled

Yes, my excuse for being MIA in forum-land is indeed what used to be called a 'delicate condition'. One of the many delightful outgrowths of this condition has been a recent obsession with creating the perfect deviled egg. Who doesn't like these? Perfect for the summer cookout (as long as you don't leave them in the heat too long), an appetizer that always pleases. Too bad making them yourself is so time-consuming, but, even the lazier Homespun Sister has to admit the homemade ones are far and away better than your pre-made supermarket creations.

Want to know a secret? After making many batches, getting input from people's Southern Mamas (one said: I just put Hellman's mayo, a bit of lemon juice and a bit of Dijon mustard in mine- topped with anything like chopped parsley, fresh
chives-caviar- whatever! Some people add relish or chopped green olives to the basic mixture.-") I have hit upon the Holy Grail ingredient: PICKLE JUICE. This isn't just a pregnancy talking. When you mix up your yolks, Mayo (I like Duke's), powdered mustard, celery salt and pepper, toss in some of the juice from your favorite pickle jar, be it dill or sweet (just never serve me the sweet without a warning, or you may have to clean deviled egg off your floor.)

public shaming and baby food

In an effort to get the other half of the homespun urban team back on the blogging saddle, so to speak, here's a topical query for the readers: What about making your own baby food? Yes, there will soon be a homespun baby on the way, and perhaps it's because it's not my baby, but it seems kind of silly to pay for baby food. Why not just buy the fruits and veggies in season, cook them, and puree? Wouldn't it be cheaper and better? Are there readers out there who snort at this idea and say "sure, let me see you and your homemade babyfood when you haven't slept for three days and you're covered in baby spit." I'm not mad, I'm just asking.