Dream Garden Started

So it's official!!!  I have a new garden pad for this dream garden that I am putting in.  I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how I was going to get our crazy hard dirt moved and level, so I finally bit the bullet, and hired my excavator, and in a couple short hours, I had a flat spot ready for my garden!

I would still probably be there with whatever piece of equipment that I would have rented, and it still wouldn't be flat.  While much work is still ahead, fencing, creating the perimeter with timbers, and finally raised beds with "good" dirt, it's started.  Final dimension is 40'x60'.

Here is an ultimate picture of the finished product!!  Looking forward to the work, and a dream come true!! 
The tomatoes and peppers that I started from seed needed to go into the old bed this year.  Made room for them, and just planted yesterday.  10 rows of peppers, yikes, better start getting recipe ideas and canning recipes together!

Happy gardening
-K-

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Fun lighting project

I love projects, big ones, little ones, it doesn't matter. I recently came across an old brass light fixture courtesy of my late father-in-law, much like me he could see the potential in anything. My husband and I along with several family members were helping my mother-in-law clean up the barn space at their house, and I came across this light fixture. My poor husband took one look at our newly acquired piece, and turned up his nose. "One more thing we have to bring home, and this thing is ugly." I however disagreed!!

A few weekends later, just to let my husband stew over how this was going to turn out, I finally got started. First thing I did was wash it with soap and water, and took off the glass hardware so I could put it in the dishwasher for a good cleaning. I used a piece of sandpaper, 220 grit, to rough up the surface to prepare it to take the spray paint I was going to use. I went to my local home improvement store and purchased satin finish black spray paint, 5 light bulbs, and 5 small lamp shades, $38 later I was ready to get started painting. I did get schooled from hubby about how to correctly apply spray paint, so for those, like myself, who need a little direction...hold the spray can about 8-10 inches away from what you want to spray, and use short, quick sprays until you get the coverage that you desire. This may take several coats to get the desired coverage.
After letting it dry for several hours and after the glass was cleaned in the dishwasher, I started putting it back together with beautiful results! The lampshades and clean glass against the new black metal looked stunning!

Final step was the hanging, not being familiar with the ins and outs of electricity, I called in my hubby for help, who seeing the finished product was now excited to help me hang this! I turned off the breaker to my daughter's room, and got ready to take the old fixture down. It was far easier than I had expected, a few screws undone, and wire nuts connecting the new wires we were set. The finished product is fabulous. 

My daughter's room looks wonderful with this new light fixture in place along with the wrought iron bed frame and old make-up dresser from Grandpa as well (although a project not yet finished). Her room looks perfect for a little girl ready to grow up way too fast with a few great memories of Grandpa!! We miss you, but see you all around us!

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Bake Sale 2!

Well the bake sale is going better than expected, and more items are in need.  Here is my chance to try this butterscotch brownie recipe.  By the way, I already tried one (cook must sample right?), and they are awesome.  These are staying in the back pocket for sure.

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
1 3/4 cups packed brown sugar, light or dark
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 cup butterscotch chips or chocolate chips
(or you can combine the two for total of 1 cup)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 13x9 baking pan.  Place butter in a saucepan and melt it over low heat.  Remove the pan from heat, and add the brown sugar, and stir until blended.  Then let it cool for at least 5 minutes.  Add the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time, and stir quickly so the eggs don't scramble on you.  Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.  Add flour mixture to the saucepan and stir until combined.  Mix in chips, and scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan and level the top.  Bake until a wooden skewer come out clean in the middle, 25-30 minutes.  Let them cool in the pan on a wire rack, and then cut them into 12 -24 squares.

First time for this recipe, and I found that I needed to bake them longer to get the middle to come out fairly clean.  I let them cool, while I helped out the student council, that my son is proudly on!!  Came back home, and they were ready to cut and package for the bake sale.  I labeled each individual brownie, and noted that there were no nuts, which these days is a big deal.

Off to the bake sale I go...
Happy Baking
-K-

 

 

 

 

 

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Bake Sale!

It was bake sale week at my kids school, that means trying to find the time to bake plus all the other things that occur during the week.  I do however have a go to chocolate chip cookie recipe that is easy and allergy free for the most part.  I found this recipe when my son was younger and allergic to everything, dairy, eggs, peanuts.  How do you do baked goods without all those items right?

I stumbled across this recipe from Silk Soy Milk, and it is the easiest recipe.

1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar               
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 cups flour
12oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter and sugars together, then add the soy milk and vanilla until combined.  Mix dry ingredients together, not chocolate chips yet.  Add to wet ingredients until combined (I usually add the dry ingredients in about 2 batches), then mix in your chocolate chips. Put unbaked cookies on baking sheets in the size of cookie you desire.  Bake for 13 minutes, or until done.  If you choose a larger cookie the baking will take a little longer.  Then cool on a wire rack.  I have a convection oven, which affords the ability to make 3 pans at one time, cuts down the time immensely!

I know what you're thinking, she used butter, a dairy product, but no.  We had to go searching for a butter spread that had no dairy, but still satisfied my need for no trans fats or hydrogenated anything.  We found Earth Balance natural buttery spread, which contains no dairy and no hydrogenated oils, etc.  Win, Win!!  You can however use butter or vegetable shortening, and they will turn out fine.

I have made these cookies into big ice cream sandwiches (son no longer allergic to dairy!) for birthday treats.  I've left out the chocolate chips to make a sugar cookie that my kids decorate with frosting and sprinkles.  This is a versatile recipe for what ever occasion you have.

I'm making a new recipe for the bake sale, butterscotch brownies, while not new in the baking world, new in mine, and I'll let you know how they come out!

Happy Baking
 -K-

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Dream Veggie Garden

I've always had this gardening dream, huge successful vegetable garden.  While I've worked to perfect this particular dream of mine, it hasn't always been so successful, like last year for instance when a large hail storm in early June took out my entire garden.  Needless to say, not too successful last year!  So this year I have started my seeds indoors as always, tomatoes and peppers, and they look fabulous.

This year I have a new garden planned, while the old one is still a fabulous working garden, I decided to change it into just a fruit garden.  I have tons of strawberries and have added blackberry bushes and raspberries as well.  The vegetable garden I have my sights set on looks just like this..



I even have plans for a fountain in the middle!  Thank you to Country Living Magazine for my fabulous inspiration.

Happy Gardening!

-K-

Peppers at 8 weeks

Tomatoes and Tomatillos at 8 weeks

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