before and after - end table

I have an old end table - the varnish is coming off and the wood was starting to chip and split in places.  Its been through a lot - college, a long distance move, and a new home in a very dry climate (which isn't so easy on wood).

I'd say its time for an end table makeover.  I like the idea of taking old things and giving them more of a modern twist.  I have this theory that if you are living in a home with a lot of standard features (such as an apartment) you should try to have interesting accents to make the place look less cookie cutter.   One of the ways to do this is to take old furniture and paint it an interesting color.  Inspiration . . .

I have this white orchid so I wanted a color that would really make it pop.  Enter orange - a color that is totally underestimated, but brings bright sunshineness into my beige - cookie cutter - world (and also one of the colors of fall 2011).

Supplies . . . sandpaper, paint (2 in 1 paint and primer), brushes (one large and one small crafty one), newspaper, and white cloth.

About 2 hours of work (quick sanding, wipe clean with the cloth, and begin painting) and I have myself a "new" end table.

potato bread

As I sit here and type I can smell the bread I just took out of the oven.  I love the way bread tastes, but the smell is even better.  I love how it lingers in the air long after its gone.  The smell - takes me back to those days - among my favorite of childhood - when my mother used to make bread.   Whenever my mom made bread it was inevitable that she would say "don't eat it all in one day."  Not deterred, my brother and I would take turns all day long sneaking into the kitchen, to retrieve another piece of bread to share.

My mom used to make all kinds of different breads, but my favorite was when she made my grandma's potato bread.  Well today - as summer fades into fall - I thought some potato bread was in order.

Recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Mash Potatoes
• 1 Package Yeast
• 1 ½ cups water
• 2/3 Cups Sugar
• 1 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 2/3 Cups Shortening
• 2 eggs
• 7 to 7 ½ cups flour

Dissolve yeast in water, stir in sugar, salt, shortening, eggs, and mashed potatoes.  Gradually mix in 6 cups of the flour, when the dough starts to pull away from the side of the mixer, turn the dough out onto a floured counter top, and then knead the last cup and 1/2 into the dough by hand.

Roll dough into a ball, and put in a greased bowl.  Cover, let rise, and then punch down.  Roll the dough into dinner roll sized shape, and then place in greased pan.  Place  in 400 degree oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Try it, they are pretty much spectacular!

pictures of the day

When I was back in Iowa, I took these pictures of my niece and nephews, and I thought they were so cute I just had to share.

did you know . . .

I love pan-seared scallops.  I often get them when M and I go to dinner, and I have tried to make them at home on different occasions. A couple of times they turned out well, and on one occasion I had to throw them all out because they had this metallic awful taste to them.  I honestly thought they were rotten.  Since that occasion I haven't tried to make scallops at home, and I didn't give it too much more thought until . . . .

Recently, I was watching an episode of (my favorite) America's Test Kitchen and learned the most interesting thing.  There are two different kinds of scallops - "dry" and "wet."

What is the difference?  The so called "wet" scallops are actually treated with phosphates.  The phosphate acts like a preservative, but they also make the scallops weigh more because they retain water.  The "wet" scallops also have a metallic taste to them, which can only really be covered up with some sort of strong acidic taste like lemon or lime.  Also, "wet" scallops do not caramelize as well because they are retaining all that liquid.

On the other hand dry scallops are not treated with any type of chemical or preservative.  So they are often more fresh than "wet" scallops, caramelize better, weigh less, and taste so much better.

So how do you tell the difference?  You could ask - although most the time the person behind the seafood counter at the supermarket is a 17-year-old, and has no idea what you are talking about.  Or, you could try to figure it out for yourself.  One way to differentiate between the two is their color: "Dry" scallops are a pearl color and "wet" scallops are white.

Good luck.