Reinventing The Wheel

Lately I've been busy...

Like strange busy. While quarantining at home I thought I'd have all this time to do all the things I like to do, like read, blog, do laundry, etc. But I find that I don't have time because lately, I've been doing a lot of reinventing. Social distancing policies have forced me to reinvent how I do my business in the midst of a pandemic, but it's not just work. I find that I'm reinventing different things every day.

Text and FaceTime with my friends and loved ones are the new normal in touching base and letting people know you care thereby reinventing my social interaction. While It's easy to change from your day pajamas to your night pajamas, I choose not to, so I'm reinventing my daily look. I also haven't been loving the lunch that I used pack from home and more often than not and eat on the fly, so I've been reinventing cuisine around here daily. I've become the Rachel Ray in my house and the family dinners have been epic! I forgot how much I like to cook and that I'm good at it because I used to eat out almost Every. Single. Night. The refrigerator is jam-packed like never before, and I keep watch on the food and leftovers so that nothing goes to waste, ready to pounce when something has passed it prime. A TOTAL reinvention, since I used to be never home to notice.

Supermarket, pharmacy lists and filling on-line orders at my store have become spread sheet worthy tasks as necessities are rationed and carefully planned. Trips are shortened and far more productive and deliberate. When completed, I always to then return safely home and wash my hands thoroughly. No detours.

But this one's the shocker.
I've even reinvented my TV habits.
I have hardly watched Netflix, (except for Season 3 of Ozark-loved it!) or Bravo. CNN is my constant companion and its becoming the soundtrack to my quarantine days. Everything lately is a complete reinvention from whom I used to be.

And it's OK. Because although we've been forced to look at life differently in this historic moment in time, it's given me the opportunity to be more thoughtful, more aware and more careful about my choices. It's always been me-but the me who was on the fast track and probably a bit more quick and carefree doesn’t have the same options. It's not that I have really changed who I am, It's more like I've reinvented what and how I navigate through everyday life.

I'm still me. I’m still the same person I was before the pandemic. I just need to pivot and adapt to this strange thing that has hit us all, hard. So I count my blessings and forge ahead. I really don't need to reinvent the wheel.

There's No Crying In Cooking..

Picture this:
Candy in the kitchen cooking all the family's holiday favorite foods on Sunday. Christmas music playing festively in the background and the family comfortably nestled around hearth and home. It's a beautiful holiday picture...until it came time to chop up the onions. The kids were horrified by mom's sudden red and tearing eyes and I was stifled by the pain and stinging.

I tried some of my best known tricks for stopping the torture while chopping onions

• Put a match stick between your teeth. (I tried both lit and not lit)
• Run the water while chopping.
• Light a candle.

None of them worked. I was crying like a little baby-and the stinging was so painful that I had to stop completely more than once. I even contemplated shorting the recipe of chopped onions because I seriously couldn't put myself through the agony for one more second.

There's no "Holly Jolly Christmas" without everybody's favorite foods-so what am I to do? What do you do? Because seriously-I'm considering using the scuba mask like my friend in the picture above. Legend has it that as the onions grow under the ground absorb the sulfurs from the earth that cause the painful gasses to emit when chopping. 

A quick internet search shows several tried and true ways to stop the tearing. I'm ready and willing to try anything at this point:

• Cut an onion under the vent-put a cutting board on the stove top and turn on the vent overhead. The ventilation fan is supposed to redirect the fumes away from your eyes. 
• Wear goggles-you can purchase specifically designed goggles for onion cutting, but everything that I read says swimming goggles work just as well.
• Freeze the onion-put the onion in the freezer 15 minutes before chopping. Theory is that the cold inhibits the onion's release of the painful gasses.  
• Put a piece of bread in your mouth-probably the easiest and most effective. The thinking here is that the bread absorbs all the bad stuff, but users of this method report that your mouth will water while chopping causing one soggy piece if bread in the end. 

All in all-I don't care which one causes what as long as it works! Because a Christmas without onions is like the year without a Santa Claus!

Tips And Tricks For Cool Kids

So a friend of mine sent this to me and I loved it! I sooo wanted to share it with you.

Hull strawberries easily by using a straw.

Rubbing a walnut over scratches in your furniture will disguise dings and scrapes

 This one is my favorite.Overhaul your linen cupboard, store bed linen sets inside one of their own pillowcases and there will  be no more hunting through piles for a match.          

 Pump up the volume by placing your iPhone or iPod in a bowl.  The concave shape amplifies the music.

Use wire to make a space to store gift wrap rolls against the ceiling, rather than clutter up the floor.

Add this item to your beach bag.  Baby powder gets sand off your skin easily, who knew?

Find tiny lost items like earrings by putting a
stocking over the vacuum hose.

Make an instant cupcake carrier by cutting crosses into a box lid.

Forever losing your bathroom essentials?  Use magnetic strips to store bobby pins, tweezers and clippers, behind a vanity door

Store shoes inside shower caps to stop dirty soles rubbing on your clothes.  And you can find them in just about every hotel.

Bread tags make the perfect cord labels.

Bake cupcakes directly in ice-cream cones, so much more fun and easier for kids to eat.

Install a tension rod to hang your spray bottles.

Turn your muffin pan upside down, bake cookie-dough over the top and voila, you have cookie bowls for fruit or ice-cream.

Freeze Aloe Vera in ice-cube trays for soothing sunburn relief.

Very cool sunburn relief!  

There you have it bloggers! I'm sure you found something helpful among these tips! 

Happy Birthday Steven Tyler

Scooby dooby dooby doobie birthday shout out to Mr Steven Tyler who turns 65 today...Tyler's just a fraud though, because the real rock star is my son Frack, who turns 17 today! Holy moley when did THAT happen? Damn, that means I'm slinking up beside old and getting cozy.

Frack is getting old too, and handsome?

Every mother thinks her son is handsome, but now that Frack is 17 I can see his handsome and he's gotten manly. He drives now and he takes showers everyday and he got his braces off and he cut his hair! Thank you Jesus, because he was beginning to look like his birthday doppelganger, Mr. Tyler. Since then it's like I see him clearly and for the first time I see the man. It's wild! Like an ah-ha moment in our lives. I knew this day was coming, just not so soon.

A birthday dinner is in order and what's on the menu?

We talked about what kind of cake he wants (strawberry shortcake cake) and we talked about the restaurant he wants to go to (which is really bad, seriously) and I thought about how we would make the night special for him and tolerable for us. Then it hit me..why don't I COOK his favorite dinner??

Cook? Me? Oh yeah, I seem to remember when I used to love to do that. Since I opened the store I haven't had any time for that cooking nonsense, but Frack's birthday, being the National holiday that it is, I want to make it special for him. So his favorite dinner at home it is! Spaghetti and meatballs, mama style because I make the BEST and I'm taking the rest of the day off to cook for my little big birthday man. I'm felling a little scooby dooby doobie myself right now. Happy birthday you two crazy kids.

Oh yeah and Steven? If you're around why don't you stop by for some strawberry shortcake birthday cake and help Frack blow out the candles like a rock star.

Killing Me Softly

So I'm watching Rachel Ray the other morning while working out, and it just so happens that the entire show dedicated to burgers...

Ok? I'm there sweating it out, trying to attain a summer lean and she's cooking up burgers that would make a dead zombie salivate. It was like a bitter sweet nirvana. Now, everybody in The Daily Dandy household loves burgers but nobody more than My Guy. I would have to say that a juicy, delectable burger is his most favorite go to food in the world. He like them plain, too. Nothing except ketchup. Me? The more toppings, the better.

This book is not for the slight of heart. One look at the cover burger reveals Ray's  natural zest for hearty eating. The text book size cookbook contains over 200 recipes including: Sloppy Chipotle Joe's, Bloody Mary Cheeseburgers, Portebello Burgers, French Onion Burgers, Boeuf Bourguignon Burgers and my personal favorite, Brooklyn Beer Chili Sliders. There are also other recipes done Rachel's way for fries, ketchup and interesting toppings.

I wonder what Wimpy would say about "The Book of Burger" if he were alive today? Would he gladly pay you on Tuesday if he could buy the book today?

I'm not sure about Wimpy, I think he'd probably rather have the burger, but I'm thinking it's the perfect Father's Day Gift for My Guy. That way I can add it to my cookbook collection pronto!

I Love Me A Nice, Big SANG-a-wich..

I'm loving the changes I've made my in diet, because it keeps me fit and helps me to stay on track and stay in my jeans. Being sugar-free isn't easy, but I've come to get used to the foods I can and can't eat. I get to eat whatever want (EXCEPT sugar) two meals a week, and I usually end up splurging on dinner foods. One of the things I miss is having a sandwich. I miss the good old, wholesome yumminess of having a big old sandwich.

I was watching Rachel Ray's show yesterday and I learned that April is National Grilled Cheese Month. Really? Who decides this stuff? Anyway, this just served to get my sandwich mojo flowing and I decided that tonight would be National Grilled Cheese Night in The Daily Dandy household.

Rachel had a "Grilled Cheese Sammie Smackdown" and she made 3 types of delectable, yummy, gooey grilled cheese goodness. Today I'm sharing the recipe for the one that lit my taste buds ablaze and made me get all giddy with the anticipation of a Grilled Cheese dinner night!

Grilled Deviled Ham and Cheese

Ingredients

• For the Deviled Ham:
• 1/2 pound prosciutto cotto, coarsely chopped
• 1 small rib celery from heart, coarsely chopped
• 1 Fresno chili pepper, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 small red onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 to 3 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley tops, a small handful
• 1 large clove garlic, grated or pasted
• 3 tablespoons yellow mustard, such as French’s
• 2 round tablespoons pickle relish
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce, such as Frank’s Red Hot
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, such as Lea and Perrin’s
• Black pepper
• 
  
• Good quality salted butter, melted
• 8 hand-sliced slices good quality white bread, cut 1/2-inch thick
• 8 deli slices Swiss cheese, such as Jarlesberg
• 8 deli slices yellow cheddar cheese

Preparation

For the deviled ham, pulse-process ingredients in food processor into almost-smooth, very finely chopped spread.

Liberally brush 1 side of 8 slices of bread for 4 sandwiches with the melted butter. 

Build sandwiches: bread with the butter side facing down, 2 slices Swiss cheese, some deviled ham, 2 slices cheddar cheese, and another slice of bread with the buttered side out.

Grill sandwiches over medium heat on nonstick griddle pan until cheese is melted and they’re deeply golden.

All 3 of Rachel Ray's Grilled Cheese recipes can be found HERE.  

And I'm just warning you...you may be thinking about you favorite "sang-a -wich" all day long.

A Lusty List

Things I'm currently lusting after:

The ultimate coffee table book about the man, the myth, the legend behind...the shoes.

Any and all things Iris Apfle:



Seven grand. Stop it. Just stop it.



Now seriously, and I need TWO of these. Price tag? $25,000.00. Each.



I have yet to make these babies my own:



Cooking expeirence to go with my brand new pressure cooker from Santa:


Cooking excellence:




And most important:



A WIN and we are INNNNN!!

Peace bloggers. Have a great weekend!

Cookie Monster

No wonder Cookie Monster is one of the most beloved Sesame Street characters of all time, because nothing reduces mature adults into little children more than a plate full of cookies. We had our annual Christmas party yesterday and we decided to participate in a cookie swap. Have you ever done this?

Everybody makes two dozen cookies; the recipe of their choice, and brings them to the party. The cookies get laid out on a table and the guests each get to make a platter full of two or three of each kind of cookie. We had 11 people and about 15 different varieties of cookies to make a generous platter of cookies from. The hostess bought us special Christmas platters to house the cookies and take home as a party favor. It was a blast, and all of the cookies were fantastic. We even ended up swapping a few recipes by the end of the party.

The best part of the cookie swap is that now everyone has all these different, colorful and fantastic cookies, we get to share them with our families! When I got home, the quiet household came to life and more than a few cookies were consumed before dinner. We had gingerbread men, candy canes with colorful frosting and Christmas trees. There were smores bars and wedding cakes and peanut butter cookies with Hershey's kisses. One woman made colorful bags full of a wonderful mix she called "White Trash", which was Check mix with melted white chocolate and another made homemade English Toffee.

I got a recipe for these little treats:

Pretzel Squares
Rollo Candy
Pecans

Put the Rollo candy on top of the pretzel square, then the pecan on top of that.
Place in an oven heated to 325 degrees.
Watch as the candy melts, just enough to adhere to the pretzel and the pecan to the candy, a few minutes.
Remove from oven and let harden.
Enjoy!

The tough part is now staying away from the cookie platter, especially when a cookie would make a nice breakfast on the go and great lunch follow up. Too bad there's not a fool proof way to remove all the fat and calories these colorful creations are chock full of.

Now that would be one heck of a Christmas present, right?

What's Cookin'?

So, today is a holiday with our observance of Columbus day and my store is closed. I find myself with a happy, much needed day to bond with my family. Growing up, when my mom wanted to re-connect with us, she would cook, knowing that the wonderful, wafting scents from her kitchen would keep up all around all day. This is my plan for today. On the menu:

• Cupcakes. Seriously, who doesn't love cupcakes?

• Muffins. My Guy has requested homemade chocolate chip. No problemo.

• Chili. I got a serious hankering for some veggie chili after reading Corey James' blog today.

• Pot Roast. It's getting chilly, so tonite a nice pot roast will be a welcome meal for the troops.

Nothing makes me happier than knowing my family is eating wholesome food cooked my mom. Frick and Frack love to help in the kitchen too, so sometimes I can get them to tell me things while we are cooking together that they wouldn't otherwise. You know, they can't use the TV or the computer as an excuse for not answering any of my pointed questions. In the kitchen, it's just easy, casual, conversation...most of the time.

What's cookin' today? A whole day of family love and fun.

And I can't wait.