The Pig House Came to Town!

I have lived in Huntington for 10 years now, and in all that time my Weirton family had not been to visit me, not once.  Finally, after years of begging they came!  My house was completely filled to the max, Pat, Denise, Jenn, Mia & Gianna and Michael was also in from Charleston.  I took them to a children's art festival and then we had a "party" for Mia's 5th Birthday.  It was a hectic blast, just the way we like it : )  Hopefully it won't be another decade before they make another trip! 

Tomatoes!

My grandma always talked so fondly about how my grandpa always enjoyed his first tomato of the season right from his garden.  He would take his Morton salt with him and bite into it like an apple.  I remember partaking in this with him and thinking that he had a "special" kind of salt and to this day, even though I know better, it is the only type of salt I buy. 

After nothing but months of rain, I had only one tomato pop out early this year.  I treated my little survivor like a baby, and when it was finally ready I dragged it to Charleston with me so that Michael could be apart of the tradition (Gracie had a piece too).  We had it for a midnight snack (hence the pj's) and it was a fabulous as it looks!

Something Old, Something New

About a month or so ago I stopped into the Habitat for Humanity ReStore to donate a couple of things.  This was Michael's first trip there and he was completely overwhelmed with the amount of "stuff" they had and how reasonable it was.  We came across this headboard ($15), which I wanted to paint white and stick in my guest room, but Michael thought it would look better if we refinished it and stained it dark.  I agreed, but dreaded the extra work.  It was his plan to do it, but between his crazy work schedule and my expected company I went ahead and did it myself. 

I completely forgot to take a before picture, which sucks, but you can get a small idea of what it looked like before from the back of the headboard.  First I used a stain remover which I also bought at the ReStore for $10 and I still have over half left.  All I did was pour it on, let it sit for minute and scrub it with steel wool.  It took a couple of times, but this entire process took me less than 30 minutes. 

Next I went out it with my mouse, sander that is.  I started with a medium grade sandpaper and worked my way down.  This was actually kind of fun and only took about 15 minutes.  It would have taken less time, but there were a few nicks and dings I wanted to rub out. 

After being sanded, I wiped it down with a wet cloth and let it dry in the sun before staining.  The framing took two coats.  The inset part took a little longer because after it was stripped I discovered that it was particle board and not actually wood.  I did several layers, which took awhile to dry,  but I am super pleased with the way it turned out!

Every good carpenter needs a helper!  Gracie sunbathed while Mommy worked.  Michael did come to Huntington in time to help me connect it to the bed frame.  In total this project cost me less than $25 and I still have half a gallon of stripper left.  Not to mention one less thing in a landfill!  Now I just need something on the walls....

It's Grilling Time!

I have been harassing my boyfriend for months about trying to grill a pizza.  Well the stars finally came into alignment...we had one day with nice weather when Michael was actually in Huntington.  So I finally got my wish!

Grilled Apple & Pork Pizza:

1 12" pizza crust (we used Boboli, maybe later we will try homemade)

olive oil

1/2 lb boneless pork loin chops

1/4 Granny Smith apple

1/2 c BBQ sauce

1 c goat cheese

fresh parsley

Preheat grill to medium heat for about 10 minutes.  In the meantime, season pork and either cook on grill on in a skillet and slice thin.  Slice apple and place on grill for about 2 minutes, until tender. 

Spread BBQ sauce over crust, then add pork, apples, cheese and parsley.  Place pizza on grill four about 8 to 10 minutes. 

(This one had a little accident, I won't mention any names, but it was a lot prettier when it went on the grill, still tasted great!)

Thai Shrimp Pizza:

1 12" pizza crust

olive oil

1 c small raw shrimp cleaned

1/2 c green onion sliced
1 carrot cut julienne

1/4 c fresh cilantro chopped
1/2 c mozzarella cheese grated

Peanut Sauce:

1/4 c fresh lime juice with pulp
2 T sodium soy sauce
2 T green onion minced
1 T fresh cilantro minced
2 T crunchy peanut butter
1 T olive oil
1 T brown sugar
1 tsp fresh ginger minced
1/2 tsp lime zest grated
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic minced

Preheat grill to medium heat.  Combine lime juice, soy sauce, onion, cilantro, peanut butter, oil, brown sugar, ginger, lime zest, red pepper flakes and garlic in a small pot or sauce pan.  Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally.  One warm add shrimp and stir gently until pink. 

Reduce grill heat to low. Brush grill rack with olive oil. Using the indirect grilling method, slide pizza crusts on grill and cook until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes until lightly browned.  Turn pizza crusts over. Top browned side of pizza crusts with shrimp mixture with liquid to preference. Sprinkle with green onions, carrot sticks and cilantro and cheese.  Cover with grill lid and heat pizzas about 5 minutes or until crust is golden on bottom.

 

Babies and Lambies! XOXOX

My adopted-like brother David and his wonderful wife Jenny are quickly approaching the birth of their first child, Dominic DiBello.  I swore I was done with crocheting baby blankets, but since David's sister Jenn got one for each of her girls, I couldn't let little Baby "D" come into the world without one!  Whatever would he think of his crazy Aunt Carly!?!

Unlike my dear friend Jenn (David's Sister), Jenny knew what colors and the theme of the baby's room right away, which was a huge help on my end.  She said she was basing the colors of the room around this super cute lamb quilt at Pottery Barn Kids.  So then I decided to challenge myself with another project which was the crocheted lamb. I found a free pattern on another blog site called Harugurumi.  Although it wasn't super hard, I highly doubt I will be making another one in my future!

Now all we need is the baby!  Congrats David & Jenny!

Easter Bread!

As an Italian tradition my family always had three things for Easter.  The first was "ham pie" which is similar to a quiche with ham, cheese and egg.  The second is "rice pie" which is a simple sweet lemon flavored pie with rice and ricotta.  And the third, which is my favorite, "Easter bread."  This bread, also called "sweet bread," was always my favorite thing to eat at Easter.  My Grandma, Great Aunt Rita and Great Uncle Joe, totally mastered the art of making this delightful light and sweet bread, but I unfortunately have not.  So this year I thought I would try and give it another go.  It was semi successful, but in the end....better luck next year!  Like my Mom said, "at least you tried."

Easter Bread Recipe: (makes 3-8" loaf pans)

1 package dry cake yeast

1 stick oleo (butter)

1 c sugar

1 tsp salt

1 c milk

2 eggs

1/2 bottle lemon extract

4-5 cups of raisins (I used 5)

raisins (optional)

To start off you activate the yeast by adding 1/4 c of warm water and a tsp of sugar.  If the yeast is active it will double in size in less than 10 mins, if this does not happen toss it and try a new packet.  While you wait for your yeast to activate, measure your ingredients and add to the center of your flour (mix the salt with the flour first)like a "nest."  Then add the activated yeast and knead with your hands.  This dough is extremely STICKY so try to coat your hands with flour first.  You can also remove dough on your hands by rubbing them together with some flour. 

Once your dough is kneaded form a ball the best you can, cover the bowl with a dish towel or two and stick it in a warm place to rise.  If it is not warm it will not rise!  You want it to be at least 70 degrees.  It will take the dough awhile to rise, you want it to DOUBLE in size, mine took about two hours. 

Then you punch down the dough and and put in your pans.  You want to fill the pans about half way.  This time I did one loaf pan and some Texas sized muffin pans.  Cover again and let rise again until. 

Once it rose for the second time you bake it for 20 mins in a 325 degree oven.  After 20 mins, brush the top of the loaves with a combination of egg yolk and water and return to the oven for an additional 5 mins.  This is what makes it shinny and a little golden.  You can test the bread to see if it is done by tapping it out of the pan and knocking on the bottom of it.  It should sound hollow and be golden on the bottom.  Here is my finished product, ready to go to Michael's Grandma's.  We won't talk about what happened to the loaf, like I said, "better luck next year."

 

Let's get this garden started!

It was a beautiful day this past Sunday so Michael and I decided to take advantage of the weather and work on some outside projects.  We did a few small things like planting flowers (perennials only, so hopefully less work next year!), hanging up the basket for my coiled hose and putting out some other decorative items.  The most important project was removing my veggie plant seedlings from my mini green house box and into the raised garden bed. 

Since my garden is only 4' by 8', I thought I would try something that I found online.  Gardener's Supply has what is called a "cucumber trellis."  The idea is for your cucumbers and squash (things that take up a large amount of space to grow) to grow up the trellis an stay off off the ground.  You can then plant your smaller veggie plants like spinach and lettuce underneath the raised trellis.  We shall see how this works!