Emergency Kit Essentials

Happy Monday Lovelies! I live in the East Coast and until recently hurricanes have become a common occurrence. In 2011, there was Hurricane Irene. Because we live so near the water, we evacuated to higher ground. Thankfully, there was no damage to life or property. 

Last year, Hurricane Sandy came along and unleashed her wrath. Water from the Hudson River flowed into our building's parking lot. Our main road was blocked because of fallen trees. We lost power for over a week. Despite all these blahs, I still feel blessed given that many people lost their homes and are still piecing their lives back together months after Sandy hit.

It's these natural disasters that has compelled me to assemble an emergency kit. It's a smart investment for the home and it turns blah situations into TADA! because you know you're prepared. Plus it's something we can take with us and still use even if we decide to move elsewhere. Here is my visual list: 

You can read more about assembling an emergency kit here, here, here and here.

Random Friday

If you're a regular visitor to my blog {a big thanks for that!}, you know that I like themes. I have a theme every week. Last week, it was "adhesive shelf-liners", "hearts" the week before and this week, "crafty in the kitchen." 

Themes. That's how I roll. 

Themes keep me organized and focused. But themes can be quite stifling at times. That's why I'm introducing "Random Fridays".    

"Random Fridays" is simply that. Random things that make me smile, tear up, or say, "Wow!"  And maybe, just maybe, you'll have that same reaction, too.

Here goes:

In 2007, I was at the Taste of Chicago and I had the pleasure of meeting these Clydesdale horses. I've never seen anything like them! They're known for their size {about 6 feet tall} and the white "feathers" covering their hooves. They were enormous, as if they stepped out of a fairy tale. They got so much attention, everyone wanted to take a picture. 

Each year, I'm reunited with these horses in TV commercials -- the Clydesdales are associated with Budweiser beer. If you watched the Super Bowl in February, you may have seen this very touching ad:

Sniff. Makes me cry every. single. time.

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What is your opinion about monograms?

I've seen them a lot lately from bed linen, to napkins, to jewelry. They never went away, but clearly, I'm noticing them. Could it be that I want to have my own monogram? Here's a good read on how to create your own.

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Downton Abbey is one of my favorite TV dramas. I admit, I was late to the party, but it's not hard to get sucked into the aristocratic world of the Grantham family and their servants, set in early 20th-century Britain.

via PBS.org

Oh, to be a fly on the castle wall as they don their beautiful costumes and film the engrossing scenes!

And with that, here's to many more random Fridays and to a weekend that's a lot of fun!

Dainty Cake Pops

I hope you're finding this week's kitchen tips pretty helpful. 

Today, another blah to TADA! idea:

I tested a recipe for citrus cupcakes. After baking, I felt the citrus taste was lacking. On hindsight, maybe I should have used the zest and a little more of the juice. But such happens with trying out recipes, some are successful, a few are not.

I didn't want to waste the cupcakes. I toyed with the idea of making a citrus glaze, or soaking them in limoncello similar to a rum cake. But because I already had the ingredients on hand, I made a few cake balls.

I crushed the cupcakes into crumbs.

I mixed a little bit of store-bought frosting.

I shaped them into balls. 

Melted some candy melts on a double boiler, and dipped in the cake balls until each one was fully coated. Then I put them on a plate until the chocolate hardened.

TADA! Cake balls that are ready for afternoon tea. 

Next time, to cut the sweetness, maybe I'll try peanut butter, speculoos or cream cheese instead of the frosting. I'll let you know if that turns out to be TADA!.

Tabbouleh Salad

Do you like using herbs in your cooking? Fresh herbs lend a lot of TADA! to a dish. Most of the time, however, I don't get to use the entire bunch.

Take parsley for instance. A few sprigs are enough to add flavor and color. Blah, wilted parsley is what I want to avoid. So I found a recipe for Tabbouleh.

 

Tabbouleh is a salad made of bulgur wheat. It's rich in fiber and friendly for vegans and those on a gluten-free diet. In and of itself, it's healthy.

And when you add these ingredients -- Bam! Double healthy points! There's parsley, mint, cucumber, tomatoes, scallions, lemon and oil. 

Here's what Tabbouleh looks like.

It's light and refreshing.

Serve it with grilled meat like lamb chops.

Or inside a pita bread sandwich 

{with leftover chicken and hummus}.

The recipe was from this book.

Tabbouleh Salad {from the Mad Hungry Cookbook}

Ingredients:

1/2 cup bulgur wheat

2 tomatoes, diced 

3 scallions (white & green parts, trimmed and sliced thinly)

2 to 3 cups chopped parsley, stems removed

1 cucumber, peeled and diced

1/2 cup fresh mint leaved, chopped

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt, or more to taste

Instructions:

Rinse the bulgur wheat in cold running water and soak in a bowl of water for 20 minutes. Drain and place in a large bowl.

Add the tomatoes, scallions, parsley, cucumber, and mint. Toss together.

Whisk together the lemon zest and juice, olive oil, and salt. Stir the dressing into the salad to fully combine. Serve or cover and refrigerate for up to two days.

Tuna and White Bean Salad

My philosophy in crafting extends to the kitchen -- I don't like waste. If there's an opportunity to turn blah to TADA!, I'm on it.

Here are some of the items that seem to hang out much longer than usual in my vegetable drawer: celery, scallions, herbs and lemon. The recipes I use them for only require a few stalks or half the amount so there's always extra. I'm determined to find good use for them.  

I've been cooking from this book, and it has rewarded me with many new recipes to try, using staples that I already have. 

Today, I'm trying out a Tuna and White Bean Salad. Here's what you need to do:

Mix together one or two cans of tuna {drained} with several handfuls of beans {cooked dry beans or canned -- make sure to drain them}. Add some olive oil, a dash of vinegar or citrus juice {in my case, lemon}. Add any raw sliced veggies {like celery, scallions, bell pepper or fennel}. Add some fresh herbs or a pinch of ground dry spices {like coriander, paprika or cayenne}. And because I had an apple, I diced it up and added that, too. Serve this on greens, on toast or as a side dish.

This salad is refreshing, hearty, healthy and I'm proud to say, my fridge crisper is now clean! TADA! 

Panettone Bread Pudding

Hello dear friends! This week, we're spending some time in the kitchen. I'm trying a few recipes and I'll tell you if the results are blah or TADA!

This is a panettone, a sweet Italian bread generously sprinkled with raisins, candied fruit, sometimes nuts and chocolate. They're popular during the holidays and I've given them as gifts on a few occasions. A slice, paired with coffee or tea, makes for a wonderful breakfast or snack. 

The size of this bread is massive, so I turned half of it into a bread pudding {this is a TADA! way to use up blah, stale bread}. I followed this recipe, replacing the sourdough or French bread with panettone.

 Panettone all cubed up.

I added some chocolate chips on top

before pouring in the custard. 

 Here's what it looks like after baking. 

The top was a bit crumbly, the inside soft and moist. It had just the right amount of sweetness {I used less sugar than was required} and the built-in candied fruit and additional chocolate chips added enough crunch and character. A definite TADA! if I should say so myself.

Now, I've had bread pudding at restaurants and a few of them served a sauce with it. Why not make one to give this comforting dish an extra TADA!? For the sauce, I followed this recipe.

The bread pudding resulted to many tummy rubs and a satisfying "yum" with or without the sauce.


Cinnamon Baked French Toast {recipe from The Pioneer Woman}
Ingredients:

1 loaf Crusty Sourdough, French Bread or Panettone

8 whole Eggs

2 cups Whole Milk

1/2 cup Whipping (heavy) Cream

3/4 cups Sugar

2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract

Topping

1/2 cup All-purpose Flour

1/2 cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1 stick Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces

Fresh Fruit  or chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions:

Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with butter. Tear bread into chunks (or cut into cubes) and evenly distribute in the pan.

Mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread. Cover tightly and store in the fridge several hours or overnight.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add nutmeg if desired. Add butter pieces and work into the dry mixture until mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a zipper bag in the fridge.

When you're ready to bake the casserole, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove casserole from oven and sprinkle crumb mixture over the top. If you're using fruit or chocolate chips, sprinkle on before adding the crumb mixture. Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture. Bake 1 hour or more for a firmer, less liquid texture.

Scoop out individual portions. Top with butter and drizzle with maple syrup or bourbon sauce*.

*Bourbon Sauce {recipe from Cooks County}

Ingredients:

1 1/2  teaspoons cornstarch

1/4 cup bourbon

3/4 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 - inch pieces

Pinch salt 

Instructions:

Whisk the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of the bourbon together in a small bowl. Heat the cream and the sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the sauce thickens, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of bourbon, butter, and salt. Drizzle the warm sauce over individual servings of the bread pudding.

Reliable Remnants

My sole intention this week was to turn an old mouse pad from blah to TADA! I did just that using an adhesive drawer/shelf liner in a fancy print. I had so much paper left over, I decided to use it for other projects:

Lacquer box, storage container, clip board, mouse pad 

Don't worry, the items are spread out around the home and office so there's no print overkill. LOL!

The transformations have yielded some remnants...another opportunity for blah to TADA!

With a craft punch, I made these flower stickers.

They work as cute envelope seals!

May your weekend be fun and festive!