Stairy Night

A new project of mine:  Thanks to craigslist I am now hired by a homeowner to paint their stairwell in the the style of Starry Night by Van Gogh!  I just finished! I think it turned out really well. Now I just wish I had a house of my own where I could do fun stuff like this!

DIY Design competition

I recently entered myself into a design competition for the TODAY show.
Should be interesting to see who wins the competition.  Here is what my submission was.

C&B vs. B&C

So I do this every once in a while, look through cataolgs, find things I like, and ask "Can I make that?" I found these candle votive things in the Crate & Barrel magazine and thought I would try my hand at it.  The possibilities are endless for what you could punch out of the black canvas.  I may have to come back to this one later...

My version :)

vs.

Crate & Barrel candle vases

My Terrarium

As promised, here are the pics of the terrarium.  I just added the berries today!

Complete with moss, fungi, and squaw (sp?) berries!

Chicken, Apricots and Honeyed-Pear

Bartlett Pear by Becky Bartlett
available on Etsy!

A recipe I found through tastespotting.com that was in a different language and used litres (not liters, or cups for that matter!).  I decided to convert measurements and also make some changes.  Here is the result!

Ingredients:
2-3 chicken breasts cut into 2 inch cubes (roughly)
1 large onion (sliced coarse)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, ginger, all spice, cinnamon, and turmeric
20 dried apricots
3 ripe pears (peeled and wedged...you may want to take the seeds out, unless they don't bother you)
1/2 - 3/4 cup chicken stock
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp olive oil (separated)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Stir together all spices, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons oil in a large bowl. Add chicken and turn to coat well.

Heat 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp oil in base of skillet, uncovered, over moderate heat until hot, place the chicken pieces and fry until they turn golden brown. Transfer the chicken to a plate and reserve.

Add the onions to the skillet and cook, stirring from time to time, until golden brown (6-7 minutes), add apricots and cook occasionally stir for 2-3 minutes more. Return the chicken to the skillet and add the stock, adjust seasoning with salt pepper, cover and cook for 20 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

While this is cooking, in a separate saucepan, melt 1 tbsp butter. Add pears and honey, turning them gently until the honey is caramelized. Hold aside.

Serve chicken with honeyed pears (The recipe also says you can sprinkled with balnched almonds on top, and garnish with parsley.)

Sweet Potato and Bacon Pasta!

A recipe I found and modified a bit from Real Simple magazine.

2 sweet potatoes (yams)
garlic cloves (2)
parmesan
bacon
chives

Saute peeled and diced sweet potatoes in olive oil with smashed garlic cloves until tender.  Toss with cooked pasta, grated Parmesan, crumbled bacon, and chopped fresh chives.  Real. Simple.

A Hiking We Will Go!

I just got back from a weekend up north with my mom, aunts, and grandpa.  What fun!  We went hiking in the back woods a bit and found some great stuff for a terrarium.  Don't know what I am talking about?  Don't worry, I will post pictures as a later date.  Some of these pics are a little blurry, but look at the colors!

 

Mom's Korean Salad

Making it a family affair by posting another family recipe I got from my mom.

Salad:
1 bag fresh spinach cleaned
1 c water chestnuts- sliced thin
6 hard boiled eggs –sliced
1 c bean sprouts
6 strips bacon –crisp in pieces

Dressing:
¾ c sugar
1 c oil
1/3 c ketchup
¼ c vinegar
2TB Worchesterschire
1 grated onion (small)

Dad's Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons (Tbs) flour

4 Tbs butter

2  cups milk

1.5 lbs sharp cheddar cheese (divide equally into two parts, slice into ~.5 inch square sticks)

4 cups macaroni noodles

1 chopped onion

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Boil macaroni according to box instructions.

Meanwhile melt butter in a large oven-safe pot.  Add flour and mix in.  Then add milk and stir around until it starts thickening.  Once the sauce is thickened add 1 block of cheese a few strips at a time until fully melted.

Once macaroni is boiled and sauce is melted add macaroni to sauce and stir in completely.  Add the chopped onion and stir in.  Put rest of cheese strips in the noodles, distributing them around the macaroni.

Bake the macaroni for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

I sprinkled Panko bread crumbs on top with 30 minutes left in the bake time to add a little more crunch.

NEW NAME!!!

My Esty store has a new name (Bartlett & Craft at www.bartlettandcraft.etsy.com).  So what does that mean?  New Blog!  I'm in the process of transferring everything from my other blog to this one...so patience please :)