DIY PROJECT: Chalkboard Door

 We had this really ugly utility room door and we couldn't decide how to hide it so we decided just to paint it with chalkboard paint and use it for a grocery list and emergency phone number list etc....

Easy, quick change.

Chicken with Yoghurt and Indian Spices

This was amazing with a simple rice side dish and a salad.  Tim has lost another 3 pounds.  I have lost nothing. 

1/4 cup peanut or neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn

1 whole chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 8 pieces, or any combination of parts

1 large or 2 medium onions, sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 tablespoon chopped or grated fresh ginger or

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups yogurt

Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

1. Put the oil in a deep skillet with a lid or a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When hot, add the chicken, skin side down, and brown it well, rotating and turning the pieces as necessary; the process will take 10 to 15 minutes. (You can skip this step if you like; heat a tablespoon of oil and go directly to cooking the onions.)

2. When the chicken is nicely browned, remove it from the skillet and turn the heat down to medium. Pour or spoon off all but a tablespoon of the oil. Stir in the onions, along with some salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, and spices, along with 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Cook with the onions, stirring, until very aromatic, 2 or 3 minutes. Stir in the yogurt, then return the chicken pieces to the pan.

3. Cover and cook over medium-low heat so that the mixture doesn’t boil, turning the pieces every 5 minutes or so, until the chicken is cooked through,10 to 20 minutes (longer if you skipped the browning step); it’s okay if the mixture curdles a bit. The bird is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 155–165°F. Taste and adjust the seasoning, garnish with cilantro, and serve.

DIY : Windowbox - Winter Projects for Summer Gardening

In addition to the plethora of projects that I have on my plate this winter - remodeling the guest bath, painting interiors,  finishing the kitchen island makeover,  etc... I want to work on a few projects for the coming summer. I planned to make a large window box for the living room window along with a pergola for the grill and several lattice panels for the house.  I am attempting to do this in our basement which is almost like being outside during the winter.

I went over to NY Salvage in Oneonta because I was  looking for vintage brackets to help support the window box.  I found a set of four that will work just fine and now have to reinforce and paint them and build the window box that will rest on them.

The last time I built window boxes was in North Carolina and I put a couple of them outside the upstairs master bedroom windows.  What I didn't know was that the soil I had put in the boxes was filled with Ladybug larvae.  I woke one night with a bedroom filled with Ladybugs crawling all over me and all over the walls of the bedroom. I didn't want to kill them and ended up sleeping in a guest bedroom for weeks hoping that they would all disappear and go back out the windows.

Seared Scallops with Romaine Lettuce and Roasted Chickpeas

Week 5 of New Years diet.  Tim has lost 10 pounds and I have gained 3 - go figure.

We are using a lot of Mark Bittman recipes lately because he changed his diet completely for basically the same reasons we need to  - plus we like how he doesn't provide a lot of measurements which gives you more creative freedom with the recipes.

SCALLOPS

Season scallops with salt and pepper; then sear the scallops for a few minutes in butter, turning once, until just browned on both sides. Drizzle a bunch of romaine lettuce with some olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, salt and pepper. Sprinkle the scallops with a bit more freshly squeezed lemon juice (some zest is nice here too) and some chopped parsley, and serve over the dressed lettuce with the pan juices.

For grilled romaine: Cut the romaine hearts in half lengthwise, leaving the core intact,brush with the olive oil and some minced garlic, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill cut-side down until the lettuce begins to brown and get some grill marks, but remains crisp – 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, let it cool, and dress with the freshly squeezed lemon juice.

CHICKPEAS

3 tablespoons olive or neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn

2 cups well-drained cooked or canned chickpeas

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon curry powder or other spice blend (optional), or to taste

Freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste (optional)

1. Heat the oven to 400°F. Put the oil in a large ovenproof skillet or a roasting pan large enough to hold the chickpeas in one layer and turn the heat to medium. When hot, add the chickpeas, garlic, and some salt and pepper. Shake the pan so that all the chickpeas are well coated with oil and are sitting in one layer. Put the skillet or pan in the oven.

2. Roast, shaking the pan occasionally, until the chickpeas begin to brown, 15 or 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly. If you like, sprinkle with the spice blend or more salt and pepper or simply with a little more oil and some freshly squeezed lemon juice. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Chocolate Peppermint 6 Layer Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting

Birthday dinner for friend this past weekend and this is what Tim made for dessert - I kept eating spoonfuls of the frosting - amazing!

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT CAKE

Nonstick Cooking spray

3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted

3/4 cup hot water

3/4 cup sour cream

3 cups cake flour ( not self -rising); sifted

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 1/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Swiss Meringue Buttercream 

30 to 40 hard peppermint candies, finely crushed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray six 9 x 2 inch cake pans with nonstick cooking spray.  Line each cake pan with parchment paper and spray parchment.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk  cocoa with hot water until smooth.  Whisk in sour cream; let cool.  Into a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt, set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy 3 to 4 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating to combine after each; scrape down sides of bowl as needed.  Beat in vanilla.  With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in two parts, alternating with the cocoa mixture and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until combined.

4. Divide batter between prepared pans; smooth with an offset spatula.  Bake until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean.  12 to 14 minutes.  Transfer pans to wire racks to cool 15 minutes.  Invert cakes onto racks; peel off parchment.  Re-invert cakes and let cool completely , top sides up.

5. Meanwhile , fit a pastry bag with a large plain round tip; fill pastry bag with one -third of the buttercream and set aside.

6. Place four strips of parchment paper around perimeter of a cake plate or lazy Susan.  Transfer one layer to cake plate and pipe buttercream around the perimeter of the cake.  Using about 1 cup remaining buttercream, fill between the buttercream perimeter to create an even layer of filing; sprinkle with some of the crushed peppermint candies. Top with another layer of cake, top side down.  Repeat process, filling the cake, piping the buttercream  perimeter, creating an even layer with remaining frosting, and sprinkling with peppermint candies, until all the cake layers have been stacked.  Spread remaining frosting all over tops and sides of cake; sprinkle top with peppermint candies.  Garnish sides of cake plate with any remaining candies; serve.  

FROSTING:

12 large egg whites

3 3/4 cups sugar

4 1/2 cups (9 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into tablespoons

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1. In the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a saucepan of simmering water, combine the egg whites and sugar. Cook, whisking constantly, until sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch (about 160 degrees).

2. Attach bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg-white mixture on high speed until it holds stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until the mixture is fluffy and cooled, about 15 minutes.

3. Switch to the paddle attachment. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter several tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. (If the frosting appears to separate after all the butter has been added, beat on medium-high speed until smooth again, 3 to 5 minutes more.) Beat in vanilla. Beat on lowest speed to eliminate any air bubbles, about 2 minutes. Stir with a rubber spatula until frosting is smooth.

Waxing Nostalgic

This is how it all started.  When we bought our property in 2003, we had no intention of building a house, we just wanted a place to go camping on the weekends during the summer.  The 5 acres was completely wooded and isolated and we had no electricity and no plumbing. We would drive up in total darkness on a friday night and light candles and hope that mice had not taken over the cabin.  We bought the property and there was a very small clearing and we ordered a building built out of Pennsylvania and they literally dropped it on a gravel pad on the property and that was that.  I think of those days as magical.  Candlelight, campfires, outdoor   solar heated showers, skunks, mice, hammocks, bicycles and no stress over gardens and water supplies and although I love our house and gardens - this image brings back such great memories.  This cabin now anchors our garden and is a guest house during the summer. The kids are going to be sharing this space for July 4th week this year and it should be a lot of fun.

Braised Chicken with Winter Vegetables

Braised Chicken Thighs with Winter Vegetables

Sorry - not trying to be redundant with braised chicken recipes back to back each weekend but we are dieting and Fresh Fish on the weekend upstate doesn't feel very Wintery - ish.  

1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

3 skinless chicken thighs (about 2 pounds), patted dry

Coarse salt and ground pepper

2 slices bacon, diced medium

4 garlic cloves, smashed  and peeled

1 sweet onion, such as Vidalia, cut into 3/4 wedges

1 large russet potato peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

4 medium carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/4 small Savoy cabbage, cored and thick ribs removed, cut into 1/2 - by - 2 inch stripes

1 tart apple, such as Granny Smith or Mutsu, peeled and cut into 1/2 - inch pieces

1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a large ovenproof pan, heat oil over meduim-high.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook until browned on both sides, 8 minutes per side.   Transfer chicken to a plate.  Reduce heat to medium, add bacon and garlic to pan, and cook until bacon fat is rendered , 5 minutes.  Add onion, potato, and carrots; season with salt and pepper . Transfer to oven and bake 20 minutes.  

2. Remove pan from oven and stir in cabbage, apple, red-pepper flakes, broth and mustard,  Add chicken , return to oven, and bake until cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes stirring vegetables halfway through.