thank you rhinovirus...

i have been reeeediculously inactive. i blame the joy of the family cold. i have had no interest in doing very much. so in between obsessively checking on my various pages of internet interests, i have been reading blogs. recently, my interests have been focused on making slipcovers and refinishing furniture. of course, i am lazy as hell when it comes to sanding things and using steel wool to finish wood, but i may need to overcome this to scratch my interior designing itchiness.

this has been a rather compulsively crazy diet visiting many inspiring blogs. i am beside myself with ideas... most of them prominently feature distressed turquoise furniture and nearly white slipcovers. unfortunately for me, if i bring another thing into this house, my husband could implode. i dare not test his will to live here with my harebrained schemes. like i said, this family cold has been ruining any last, good natured moment. tipping the scales to the side of frustration is not my plan.

hubby dearest is a carpenter and a really good one at that. unfortunately, he has a load of old furniture that i want to play with. the things he has are lifers here. none will ever be sold, put on craig's list, or yard saled.

he loves it all brown and in my mind, yucky colored. since it is wooden in nature, he will bow to it a very appreciative way. it is his nature to love all these things in their wooden perfection. i could care less about many of the veneers on most of these things. so i will sidestep his pieces of furniture out of a false sense of harmony.

earlier this evening, i went into the basement to check things out. i wanted to see if he had chucked out any of my finds. he likes adjust my inventory into the trash when he thinks i am not looking. i am always looking though. i seem to lose a lot of really great stuff that i remember for its potential for a really long time. my cool trash picks haunt me.

happily i found that he had NOT yet made his sneaky attack on a sewing machine table i have had stored. i never quite got to setting it up. mostly i suspect, because it is that wooden color. i just can't fall in love with brown. at least with all the grain and non-spectacular wooden species used. now if i paint it pale pink or lime green or turquoise... well my sewing skills will be resuscitated just that much quicker.

i guess i am gonna have to plan on that.

i also have collected a child's wardrobe about ten years ago. it is in my studio. that extra messy space where i harbor many supplies and dreams. its left side is populated with 4 drawers and the right side has a small door that opens to a clothing cabinet for small wearables. the front has several laminated 50's decals on it. i was sucked into buying it because of my irrational love of its decals. that and my nostalgic feelings about having had a similar one when i was a kid. i know also my husband wants that gone, gone, gone.

now with all this crazy dreaming of painted, distressed finishes, i want to repaint it . this would be ok, but those endearing decals would become a thing of the past. good thing though. i have found some new decals. old ones from the fifties and sixties. i may take the plunge, but not yet. i have not had enough time to play homage to my memories of its earlier place in my life. gosh i am so stubborn and chicken about some stuff. i seem to have many issues about change. going so far as to hang onto absurdly abstruse things from days of my own yore.

in the effort to keep this piece, i have had an idea as to repurposing it as a wrapping area. my jewelry and supplies for sale drive me crazy when i need to ship them out. the idea has been doing gymnastics in my head. i finally have come to an idea as to how i might like to use it as a station for getting things out of here and into other crafter's or jewelry wearer's lives. anything for a little progress ...

my new plans are going to include a little love fest of paint, sanding and elbow grease. i am in the mood for a fresh beginnings. they will have to fit in my own colorized world since i need their functions to be uploaded into the studio.

for now i shall show some of the things i have already painted up for companionability. you may have seen these things before. if you have, please do not faint with boredom. i am prone to repetitiveness. and i apologize for that.

i will share before and afters of the things to tackle next. you deserve some good eye candy. until then, you are stuck with these. and yeah, i still love them.

kkk

my two $2o.oo metal cabinets

lying on their backs

getting ready for some "painting spa" treatments.

the dog is just a great assistant.

starting with the joy of priming...

primed and getting a base coat of lime on one...

one lime, one aqua base coated

i found a technique on thread-banger

for spray painting through lace.

i HAD to try it.

pay little attention to those two children in the photo...

they are in front of the aqua & white cabinet.

part of the price of admission...

they helped me move the cabinets into the basement.

once the big tall cabinets made their way into place, i started on round two... the smaller drawer filled metal chests.

another pair of modest and needed purchases at $20 per set.

all those cute little drawers all lined up for their makeovers!

my backside mr. demille.

i am a shy cabinet, hence all my blush coloring.

too bad, they just couldn't stay drab olive.

on their way to a more appreciated pale, pale green.

sorta moved in and getting some kind of placement

feng shui ala bendyme

stacked up on an enamel topped two drawer table,

that my neighbor so generously donated to his trash pile.

i dragged it home with my son's invaluable help

who doesn't love FREE???

i found that fish spinny thing at the flea market for $8.oo.

who does not need a cool pencil corral for their prismacolors?

it took a smidge longer

to find the right glasses to fit it up just so.

better photos will follow soon.

finally,

i got the second pale green set of drawers

set onto my card catalog.

thank you for the freebee from providence's

Martin Luther King Elementary School!

the red shelves were at the spa for a treatment too.

i spared you those pics.

lucky you!

kkk

it is time for me and the rhinovirus to bid you adieu.

fresh pics of future renovated brown woody pieces to follow.

you have been so very good sticking with this for so long ....

xoxoxo.

W.

macaroons... a foodie's version

macaroons are the best cookies ever.

i have loved them deeply, cautiously, ecstatically, excitedly and with flexibility. one never knows when or what occasion will harbor their deep complex nuttiness other than passover. however, as near candy as they are and as easy to make... well no reason not to make them year round.

i have been making them for quite a while... i would almost like to stop, however, it is something that the seder attendees seem to want year after year. and i am vain. i like the attention. so i go with what is "tradition". in fact, i have tried many recipes and no matter what, this simple recipe is the one i like to go to for the most flexibility and consistency. also you can adjust it to whatever makes you happiest. less sweet? lessen the amount of sugar added. flavor change? change the flavor. keep it simple? no problem.

so here is the magic recipe:

let me be very honest too. this is a MARTHA STEWART LIVING recipe.

adjusted within its simplicity for

extra yummy results.

1 3/4 c. sugar

5 1/4 c. unsweetened dried shredded coconut

(i buy this at whole foods... but it is also readily available at health food stores.

if unavailable, you can use the sweetened kind in the bag.

DO NOT ADD ANY SUGAR !!)

7 egg whites

(lazy and as unhappy to waste half of the eggs, i buy the egg whites in a carton product.

also available at whole foods. or health food stores.

i never waste the time to look at a conventional grocery store.

did i mention lazy?

but there are ways to deal with the leftover yolks.

later on this issue.)

pinch of salt

2 T melted unsalted butter

1 T vanilla

1 T almond extract

a dab of butter or margerine

parchment paper.

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 degrees

INSTRUCTIONS:

1} in a large bowl, drop all the coconut and sugar in. mix it to completely combine. the coconut can be clumpy sometimes, so it is good to break it up now.

2} add salt, melted butter, egg whites, and extracts. mix this well with a large spatula until it is ridiculously evenly blended. you can let this sit for a few minutes so that the egg whites melt the sugar a bit. and mix again. this is a lot better when it is evenly moist. otherwise some of the egg white part will filter through. just keep mixing.

coconut intermixus.

3} SEE PHOTOS BELOW: prepare the parchment paper for baking. cut a piece a smidge larger than the pan you will use. fold neatly into 4ths.. open up and put a little dab of extra butter/margerine into or swipe the sheet with a stick. parchment is fabulous on release, but this will test it too much. i found that a slight amount of oiliness is great for a very easy release of the macaroons.

back to the paper, refold into 4ths and with the non folded corner, cut in with scissors on the diagonal. it need not be any specific length, but at least an inch or two will suit this perfectly.

put a tiny dab of butter/marg. in the corners of the baking pan and lay the paper on top of this. it will allow the paper to stick and miraculously, the paper ends will cross to create neat corners. no overflow is gonna soil your pans.

i use this technique for ALL rectilinear pans that need lining. also you can dust this paper with flour or cocoa and shake out over the trash or sink when making some kind of cake. spectacular results will ensue.

4} you can use a scoop or wet your fingers to make nice little haystack formed macaroons for your oven to bake up. you can place these on your prepared baking sheet pretty close together. they do not spread, they weep.

also, i am not as neat as i would like to be, but who is?

sweet little haystacks of macaroon goodness. ready for their oven vacations.

5} bake on lower rack for about 10 minutes. then rotate and put on the top rack to finish.

it is dependent upon how big or small you make your cookies that they will be done.

(this is what the macaroons look like when i like to rotate them front to back and put on the top rack to finish baking.)

photos show the relative brownness that are my method of saying when they are done.

this says DONE to me. the amount of brown is even and the bottoms of the macaroons are equally toastedly browned.

6} let sit on the pan for about 5 minutes to rest. then you can pluck them off of the paper to cool completely if that is your style. i like to let them cool almost completely on the baking sheet. there usually is some egg white that has oozed out. i have trimmed this with a knife or with kitchen scissors for neatness. i like that facsimile of neat that makes things look like the pictures of styled food. it fools folks into thinking you are a lot better at everything when things look so polished.

I just love that!!!

7} sit down and admire your lovely macaroons and wait for the compliments to flow in.

these can be stored in airtight containers for about 3 days. should they last that long.

PARCHMENT PAPER

&

Some Baking Circus Tricks:

1}take out the paper from the box it is pre-rolled in.

cut with scissors (that thing on the box side is pretty worthless for accuracy)

so that there is a little overage in the size of the paper to the size of the pan.

2} smear a stick of butter,margarine or a dab of either on an empty wrapper to cover the entire leaf of parchment paper.

3} fold into half, greased sides in.

4} fold in half again... to get quarters.

5} with all four corners stacked, cut into the corner( the one without any folds)

1-2 inches or so diagonally.

6} it looks like this...

7} open up the paper and put into the pan.

you can use a dab of butter in each corner of the pan to tack the paper to it.

8} cutting the corners of the paper and overlapping them creates a fairly well fitted pan liner. this is wonderful for cakes in rectangular or square pans and wet batter.

i use this for nearly every kind of baking.

clean-up has become a snap!

9} this is what the corners of a liner look like in a deeper pan, fyi

10} parchment is NOT a single use product.

it is so wonderful, it is used many times over by bakers. only when it becomes too brown and brittle, is it tossed or if it has been used for different baked products.

since i knew that i would make more than one tray of macaroons,

it is economical to plan on re-use of the paper.

for this, i smeared a little more butter on the paper.

11} it does not need to cover or be even when smeared on,

because you can fold it in half again or quarters even,

to then run your hands over the clean side of the paper

to squeegee the butter to all of the paper evenly.

12} i kind of used too much butter,

but you can see how it covers all of the paper pretty evenly now.

so this is ready to be filled all over again with domed haystacks of macaroon love.

FLAVORINGS:

PLAIN VANILLA: substitute the almond flavoring in master recipe with just vanilla extract.

Almond : add in some chopped sliced almonds, add in 1-2 t. extra almond extract .

LEMON: finely grated lemon peel added into the mix.

apres lemon grating and some tools...

raw lemon haystacks

chocolate: sift in 1/4 c. of good cocoa and mix until it is evenly distributed.

GINGER: bits of finely minced candied ginger can be added.

chocolate chunks or white chocolate chunks can be mixed in or melted to dip cookies into. then set them on a piece of waxed or parchment paper.

Coffee/Espresso: instant espresson or coffee crystals are a nice addition to the lemon macs. in case you were wondering... the eggs melt them down...

giving a subtle coffee flavor into the mix

ok, now you need to try making some of your own.

let me know how it goes ok?

xo.

W.

worst student ever

i am the worst kind of student ever to exist. my mind is both coated with teflon or some material like it OR it is thirstier than it has a right to be.

when i am driving my jalopie,

listening to details of life from the inhabitantants in the back seat of my car,

thinking about what to have for dinner,

where can i find the groceries i need to make it with,

where is the store that is closest to where i am now,

how much time will it take to get to point b from point a,

how much money will it take to feed the hungry hornets ,

is this a one way street going the other way?

and does my bank account support my hankerings?

well this is the teflon coated moment supreme.

one extra question from the peanut gallery may tip the system into an overload condition.

this will cause me to have to re-boot my unweildy mental cache.

starting it all over again takes time and inevitably i forget something vital to the masse.

and then of course, the whole crazy mother lode can be in full

lust for knowledge mode.

i want to know how to set a rivet,

make a flourless cake, that will hold up to be served 6o miles away,

how can i upholster my disagreeably derelict sofa ?

what do i need to get to paint some furniture just the right color and finish?

what does a Thai open air market look like ?

is it hugely different than the ones in Italy or France or Sweden?

and why do the lights of the aurora borealis flicker and dance so ?

yes, it is a great big balancing act.

ordinarily, on a day such as tomorrow , i would be flipping out to bake a cake and my standard macaroons for our generously extended invitation to a seder. unfortunately, i am growing lazier and older daily. i do not feel like i want to bake all day. what i shall do instead is make a master batch of macaroons and dress them up differently than i usually do. no one, including me needs all the lusciousness of coconut to slither into my body as well as several other fattening desserts. after the table is spread courtesy of my incredible cousin laura and the formal part of the celebration is led by her kind husband danny (which is loosely corralled chaos with some religious overtones) , i will be just worn out.

i have a load of tasks to do in prep for this day and night. one is to bring large packing boxes to my daughter so that she may move home from college for the summer. loads to do, not enough time.

good thing my little widget is gonna help me make some macaroons when we both shuffle out of our sleepy worlds.

i can also finish cleaning the fridge out. i started but there just was not enough oomph in my system to finish and do another load of dishes as well as laundry.

so until manana, when the macaroons and riesling are flowing...

i shall bid you adieu.

for the night.

xoxoxo.

w.