My husband asked me to make him a pie this week, and I forgot to pick up fruit when I went to the grocery store yesterday.  Fortunately I had some coconut milk and shredded coconut in my pantry, so I decided to try my hand at a coconut cream pie. It was delicious, even without the creamy topping (I didn’t have the required whipping cream or cool whip) although I imagine it would be even better with it.  

I used Family Friendly Food’s Recipe, substituting coconut milk.  We also sliced into before it had cooled completely, so it looked awful but tasted great.  (Who can actually wait an hour or two to eat something when the smell is lingering throughout the house?  Not me.)

I thought I would include this picture of my kitchen counter after I made the pie – all the mess (except for the tea and salsa) is from the one pie.  So now you know why I always take close ups of the food I cook – the rest of the kitchen always ends up a disaster!

Our house was built in 1971, and apparently the people who built it didn’t like light.  I had a very hard time getting my camera to take a photo of the pantry that wasn’t blacked out – even with all the kitchen lights on that corner stays dark.  The after photo really doesn’t show what a huge difference the lights make – when I stuck everything back in I had almost an extra shelf worth of space, since I could see everything and where it was going.  Being the cheap thrifty person that I am, I didn’t spend $40 on rope lights for my pantry, or even more for a fancy lighting system.  

Christmas lights are more economical than rope lights, even though they are the exact same thing an 18′ strand of rope lights cost $20, and  an 18′ Christmas rope light cost between $8-12.  After Christmas most stores mark holiday items down 50%, and a few weeks after that they go down to 75%, and sometimes even to 90% off if anything is left.  I found my lights for $6 a strand from Lowes marked down 40% a few days before Christmas, and $3.50 a strand from Walmart the day after Christmas.  (That’s another family holiday tradition- hitting the clearance sales December 26th.)

The lights came with little clips, and my intention was to randomly zig-zag them under the shelves.  But my Mom is brilliant, and she helped me hang them when she came to visit right after Christmas.  The lights run down the back of the pantry, behind the shelves, and make a loop under each shelf for even lighting.  I just screwed the clips in a circle on the underside of each shelf, replaced them all, and then ran the lights through the clips.  I also stapled zip ties to the wall in the center of the back of each shelf just to help hold things in place.

The bottom shelf is probably shows the lights the best – it makes a world of difference to be able to see what is in the pantry.   And for $12 and a few hour of my time you can’t beat it.

As a side note, yes, that is a rather massive amount of canned veggies for a family of 3.  I shop sales/coupon, and really stock up when the price is exceptionally low if I have the room to store it.  I love having my grains/beans in canisters – my in-laws bought some beans with moths in them and had to throw away most of their pantry a few years ago, so I started using canisters.  Last year I bought a bag of flour from the drugstore and it sat in my pantry for a month before I needed it.  I opened it up to find it was full of weevils, but the only thing they got into was a bag of sunflower seeds and some popcorn since everything else was sealed in canisters.  I don’t buy grains from the drugstore anymore since their stock isn’t rotated often, and I always check under the flaps and in the crevices of any grocery I buy from the drug or discount store.

I’m back!  Between the holidays, moving, and internet issues related to moving it has been a month since my last post.  Sorry!  I thought I’d start the new year off with a delicious (although not very healthy) recipe.   When I was growing up it was family tradition to have canned orange danish for breakfast Christmas morning – and its something that my family still does each year.  In the last several years I have been trying to make some from scratch due to food sensitivities, and through a fluke I think I finally got the recipe down this year.   The dough doesn’t need kneading as it sits in the fridge overnight, so all you have to do is roll it out and pop it in the oven in the morning (which sounds complicated but in actuality only takes 10 minutes.)  And nothing smells quite as amazing as fresh yeast dough baking in the morning.

Soy free Orange Danish Rolls (makes about 30):

• 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (1 pack)
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1 cup warm orange juice
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 6 cups flour
• 3/4 cup melted butter
• zest from one orange

For the filling:

• 3 cups sugar
• zest of an orange
• 1 cup softened butter
• 1/8 cup cinnamon sugar

For the glaze:

• 1/4 cup softened cream cheese
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• zest of an orange
• 2-3 cups powdered sugar
• 1-2 tbsps orange juice

The night before:  Dissolve the yeast in the water in a large bowl. Add the milk, orange juice, sugar, egg, and half of the flour. Beat together with a wooden spoon until smooth; add the orange zest to the 3/4 cup melted butter, then stir into dough along with the remaining flour. Place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and put in your fridge overnight (or for at least 6 hours.)

Measure the sugar for the filling into a small container with an airtight lid.  Zest an orange into the sugar and stir.  Cover and let it sit overnight.  I leave the cup of butter for the filling on the counter overnight so it will be softened in the morning.

In the morning:  Preheat the oven to 350*F.  Flour your counter, and scrape half of the dough out of the bowl and onto the flour.  Gently pat into a rectangle and roll out to 1/4′-1/3″ thick.  (I didn’t measure my rectangle, but I go for something that is about twice as long as it is wide.)  Spread half of the softened butter over the dough.  Stir the orange sugar mixture and sprinkle half of it over the buttered dough.  Sprinkle with a tiny bit of cinnamon sugar to taste – you don’t want too much or it will overpower the orange flavor.

Roll the dough so the butter is on the inside, and slice into 1.5″ thick rolls.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving space for the rolls to spread.  Let them rise for a few minutes while you roll out the remaining dough.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, until lightly golden.  While the rolls are baking, mix up the cream cheese, butter, and orange zest for the glaze.  Stir in the powdered sugar, and just enough orange juice to make a thick but spreadable frosting.  Spread a little of the frosting/glaze over the orange danish while they are still hot from the oven.

I let the rolls sit for a few minutes so the glaze and filling set a little.  They are best straight from the oven, although they are also delicious warmed for 30 seconds in the microwave the next day.  The recipes makes about 30 danish – a bit excessive for my family of three, but perfect when everyone gets together over the holidays.  Everyone indulges in 2-3 danish for breakfast, and then they get snagged from the counter as they sit out for a few hours during the morning.  Sorry for the lack of photos, but late night/early morning flour covered hands were involved, and I like my camera too much to cover it in flour and butter.

I love to make cute little girly things for my nieces for Christmas each year, and today realized that I need to get to work since I have yet to make anything and Christmas is only a little over a week away.  This {free} adorable little scotty dog pattern from 2allsorts is very simple, and turned out absolutely adorable!  I honestly spent more time choosing fabric and trims than I did sewing.  I decided to do a little lacey scarf instead of just a collar to make the puppy seem more girly, since she has blue eyes.  I also stitched my niece’s name on a heart – big sister doesn’t like to share, so now there will be no question as to whose toy this is.  The pattern didn’t have a nose or mouth, but I thought she looked friendlier with them.  Have you ever searched for free softie patterns?  I lost an hour this morning trying to choose between all the cuteness.

I am very excited to have fully moved out of our little apartment and into a house this weekend!  As you can see I am still in the midst of unpacking.  Because of that, and because I have new readers this year, I decided to share a roundup of some of my handmade gift tutorials.  They only take an hour or two to make, so you have plenty of time to whip up a few handmade gifts since we still have over two weeks until Christmas:

Customizable Glitter Bauble Ornaments – 15 minutes

Simple Fleece Hat and Scarf – 1 hour

Hot Chocolate Sticks with Homemade Marshmallows – 1-2 hours

Matryoshka Ornaments / Charms – 45 minutes

Simple Softie Dolly (pattern) – 2 hours

Simple Silhouette Painting – 2 hours

Waterproof Baby Bib (pattern) – 45 mins

Enjoy!

]]> http://randomcreativity.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/handmade-christmas-gifts/feed/ 0 peters2japan fireplace glitter baubles simple hat and scarf hot chocolate matryoshka simple dolly silhouette bibs http://randomcreativity.wordpress.com/2011/11/27/papas-jambalaya/ http://randomcreativity.wordpress.com/2011/11/27/papas-jambalaya/#comments Mon, 28 Nov 2011 01:31:58 +0000 Random Creativity http://randomcreativity.wordpress.com/?p=1420 ]]>

We are moving this week, so there will be no crafting and very little cooking going on around here.  I thought I would share my husband’s Papa’s jambalaya recipe with you this week – I took this photo of him cooking a large pot full for the family for Thanksgiving this year.  If you’ve never tried jambalaya before its a hearty meat and rice dish that is very popular in Louisiana.  I have a bag of leftover turkey and a few slices of leftover roast set aside in the freezer to make a batch once we are settled into the new house.  Enjoy!

My Aunt Peggy has an amazing cheesecake recipe.  It is delicious on its own, and easy to adapt into several tasty variations.  I was planning on making a pumpkin swirl cheesecake for our church’s Thanksgiving get together yesterday, but in the craziness of moving I forgot to thaw my pumpkin puree.  Since it was late and I didn’t particularly want to run to the store I decided to put that bargain priced halloween candy to good use instead. 

I used about 10 mini snickers bars for my cheesecake – just chop it up into chocolate chip sized pieces.  I didn’t use my food processor since the caramel sauce would have gummed up and made a mess (and it was already packed.)

Next, you will need to bake a brownie layer in a 9″x13″ glass baking dish.  I used a box mix since it was easier to find than my cocoa powder – here is the recipe I would normally use.  You don’t want to bake the brownie all the way – bake it until it is just set but still quite gooey.  The baking time will vary depending on your recipe – mine was done 10 minutes before the full baking time.   Set the brownie aside and bring the oven up to 450*F.

While the brownie is baking mix up your cheesecake batter.  It is very important that your cream cheese be thoroughly softened – I typically let it sit on the counter at room temperature for 3 hours.  If you can’t set it out that long, microwave each pack for 15 seconds and then let it sit out for at least 20 minutes.  If it isn’t completely softened it won’t blend properly, and there will be little lumps of plain cream cheese baked into your cheesecake.

The recipe is very simple: 3 packs of cream cheese, 3 eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, a tsp of vanilla, 2 tbsp of milk, and 2 tbsp of flour.  Cream together thoroughly, preferably with a mixer.

Gently stir 2/3 of the chopped candy into the batter, and pour over the partially baked brownies.  Bake at 450*F for 10 minutes.  Turn the oven down to 250*F and bake for an additional 20 minutes.  The cheesecake is done when the center is set – it will still be slightly wiggly until it cools.  You may need an additional 5-10 minutes of baking time, but I like to check it early since the time will vary depending on your brownies.

Sprinkle the reserved chopped candy over top of the cheesecake while its still hot.  Allow it to cool completely on the counter, and then chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before slicing.

I prefer to cut the cheesecake into 1″ squares, particularly if other desserts will be served.  I also like to add a sign to food I bring places since I have found that people are hesitant to try foods if they can’t tell what it is.

The sign also comes in handy for keeping the plastic wrap off of the cheesecake on a serving platter.

(Here is the recipe for the pumpkin swirl version I was going to make – I am not a chocolate fan so I think it is much better than the snickers cheesecake.)

I have been working at night and on the weekend for hundreds of hours over the past several months in preparation for the Mistletoe Market this Saturday and Sunday.  If you are local, and would like to stop by my table, it is in the hotel atrium at the Belle of Baton Rouge.  If you aren’t local and would like to buy something use the contact me button here or in my etsy shop to place an order – I am waiting to list items online until after the market is over.  We are closing on a house at the end of this month (yay!!) so my goal is to help with closing costs and the purchase of a refrigerator (the house doesn’t come with one, and our landlord owns the one we have been using.)

I made a really cool pop-up card for my brother-in-laws birthday, with ninjas peeking out between bamboo shoots, and took several pictures to share.  And I made nifty a slice-form squirrel card for my Grandpa’s 80th birthday the next day that I also took photos of.  And then I lost my SD card with 4 months of photographs and several files on it.  I have a bad habit of saving stuff to the SD card without copying it to my computer.  I brought 2 SD cards to show my parents (who live 500 miles away) pictures of the new house, and my main one must have fallen out of my bag at the campground we met at.  It makes me sick to think of all the stuff that was on it, but I am hoping it turns up in my car which I haven’t had a chance to search properly.  SD cards are so small, even in a case, and I wasn’t as careful as I should have been.

I’m afraid I don’t have anything else to share with you.  I do have a back-up SD card and will start taking pictures for future posts.  Its very weird to have a post with only 1 image, but that’s all I’ve got a the moment.

I have been spending hours and hours getting ready for the mistletoe market next weekend – and was kind of burned out on sewing.  I love sewing, but after a point I just need a break.  So, I pulled out my sculpey clay and set to work making some ornaments.   I have had the clay for probably 13+ years – I bought it with babysitting money before I was old enough to get a real job.  I usually make the polar bears since they are so cute, but found that the white clay was the hardest to work with.  The colored clay is still very supple, so I had fun playing around with it.

I don’t know what it is about birds, maybe its because they are so simple to draw and sculpt, but I really like to make them.  I am pretty happy with the way these two turned out.  I like the polar bears, so the tan and brown ones just don’t look right, although the brown one does remind me of the cinnamon bears my sisters and I made in preschool.  Maybe they will look better once their ribbon scarves are attached.

If you are local and want to stop by my table the mistltoe market is next weekend (November 12th-13th 2011) in the atrium at the Belle of Baton Rouge (my table is in the back near the restaurant.)

I have also been designing signs for the market, and updating the look of my etsy shop.  While I was at it I decided to make a facebook page for the blog too (the image should take you straight to the facebook page.)

I’m afraid that’s all I’ve been up to lately.  There are a few birthdays coming up that I will be making cards for, and as soon as the market is over I will move on to Christmas crafting, (both of which should be much more interesting as blog material.)

My Dad’s birthday was yesterday, so I used my watercolor pencils to paint him a birthday card.  I come from a very crafty family, so we all usually make our own greeting cards, and my Dad hangs them in his office all year.  If you’ve never tried watercolor pencils, they’re great fun.  Since you can sharpen them, you get super crisp lines (like the letters and birds feet,) that would be hard to paint.  You can mix them with regular watercolors, or use them on their own.