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    T Tuesday: domestically inclined edition

    Hello there…you came back for yet another edition of T stands for Tuesday! Thank you! For those of you who are new to my blog, WELCOME and let me tell you a little about T stands for Tuesday. Elizabeth aka alteredbooklover hosts a weekly link up or virtual tea party, if you will, where we share what ever the heck we want for the week as long as we can somehow tie a beverage or beverage related item into the mix. Pretty simple huh? So lets get on with it, shall we…

    This week I’ve been a mix of artsy and domestic. I’ve previously posted a couple of artsy things so now you get to see some of my domesticity. Last week…no, two weeks ago (geez where does the time go) I shared our “new” hutch for T stands for Tuesday. I mentioned that I need to make a curtain to cover the wine rack shelf. I went searching through a box of vintage linens and found the perfect solution.

    vintage linen

    Simple beauty. These were my Grandma’s as well. Or perhaps her sisters…a cousin of mine just told me a story that my grandma talked her sister out of a bunch of linens saying that she needed them more in the parsonage than her sister did on the farm.  Hmmm…

    vintage linen

    I’m guessing these were purchased by my grandparents in Minneapolis if the stickers are to be believed. Dayton’s became a upscale department store here in the midwest and started the discount chain Target.

    After ironically running to Target to pick up a tension rod, I realized that I wouldn’t even have to cut these linens. I folded them in half and ran a straight line of stitching an inch from the fold.

    vintage linen curtain

    This gave me a double layer of fabric providing more light blocking which was exactly what I was going for with this project.

    vintage linen curtain The linen curtain makes this piece feel more Scandinavian. Marvin still loves his spot by the door and really could care less about the curtain.

    canning

    I did a bit of canning and baking as well when the weather cooled down.

    spicy beans

    I made spicy beans, zucchini bread and pumpkin bread. I like having a little bit of baked goods in the freezer just in case we are suddenly having company and I was completely out.

    I also have to share a day that Mini-me  and I had about a month ago. I keep meaning to share but it just hasn’t worked out. She’s been wanting to dye her hair…not all of it but some. A streak or some underneath. She just couldn’t decided so we waited. She finally decided, so we did it.


    IMG_1210

    IMG_1211

    It’s faded now quite a bit so we are going to redo it likely in the next couple weeks before school starts.

    We went out to eat at Old Chicago to celebrate her fun new hair. It’s one of her favorite restaurants.

    20160723_9733

    Well that’s it for today. I’ve got another busy Tuesday ahead of me but I’ll be around eventually to visit.

    What are you doing today?

  • Blog - Kitchen

    T Tuesday: early harvest edition

    Since school has been out I feel as if I’m busier than before. Not sure how that happened. Yesterday we went to my in-laws house to plant in their garden. I had 3 tomato plants yet to plant from the ones I started back in March. I also planted summer squash, green beans and snow peas.

    So where does the harvest come in, you ask. They have a huge strawberry patch and wanted us to pick. Mini-me and I picked nearly three 5 quart ice cream pails full.

    I also harvested some rhubarb so I could make a batch of muffins. Mini-me and I are the only ones who will eat rhubarb, so I’m cautious on how much I pick. I baked these muffins in the afternoon.

    rhubarb muffins

    I’m really not much of a baker. In fact I don’t like to do it at all. Too much measuring. Rules to follow. Not my thing. But this recipe, which I slightly adapted from the original on allrecipes.com, turned out perfect in looks, texture and taste.

    Rhubarb muffins

    • 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
    • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
    • 1 egg
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • 1 cup buttermilk
    • 2 1/2 cups flour
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 2 cups diced rhubarb

    sugar crumb topping

    • 1 Tbsp melted butter
    • 1/3 cup organic cane sugar
    • 1 tsp cinnamon

    Using an electric mixer, combine first 5 ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Then add the dry ingredients.  Again mix until thoroughly incorporated. Lastly toss in the rhubarb. This may be easier done by hand unless you have a large paddle on your mixer.

    Place muffin liners in pan and fill each nearly to the top. Next melt the butter and add the sugar and cinnamon. (next time I think I’ll add some rolled oats for more texture) scoop a bit on topping on each muffin.

    Bake at 350°F for 25 mins and enjoy.

    rhubarb muffins

    Today will be spent painting mini-me’s room. She’s picked out a very sophisticated grey. I’ll share some before and after photos when we’re done…hopefully next week for T stands for Tuesday!

    What are you doing today?