Funny Food

To tell the truth I had no idea how to title this post.

The jist of it is that on the looooonnnnnggggg Easter weekend we don't have a lot of people over, we renovate!!!

This year's project was to replace the walk-in closet's old carpet and to clean it out!

Mission accomplished! We brought 4 large garbage bags to the church basement, removed the carpet, installed vinyl flooring, painted the molding, reinstalled said molding and cleaned the house.

Being Easter Dan had to open his big ol' mouth and invite his daughter for Easter supper....

So I kept it simple

                                                Olives and lupimis in sidedish Pyrex restaurant ware (of course)

                               I took this appetizer idea from the Rachael Ray show where they would stuff
                               mini bell peppers with refried beans. So I made a batch of hummus, stuffed it
                               in a zipper bag and used it to pipe the hummus in the veggies.

                              Some of it looks like diarrea! Really! we laughed so much! But it was served in a Red Kettle serving Pyrex plate so that makes it alllllll better!!!
                             

                                I made a beautiful bone-in ham but did nor think of taking pictures.

                               As for the dessert.....I decided to make a lemon meringue pie from a mix, because
                                that is the tradition. For some reason, I didn't get enough meringue and my oven turned it greyish instead of browned, but it tasted beautiful!

                                 Thank God for Easter miracles!

                                 Be well my thrifty friends!

Pyrex Lovelies

Today was surely one of the most amazing days of the year! Let me explain.

We were full of energy, we were in a cleaning/fixing mood. We were up bright and early and got tons of things done!

Before I get to the details, I want to welcome my new followers! Welcome! If you love thrifting, vintage, Pyrex, glassware,lamps, Christmas, roadtrip,cats,gardening,eating local and food in general; well you're at the right place!

Sit back, relax, grab a snack or a pint.

Now I decided to change the Pyrex displays so I had the opportunity to take pictures to share with you.

Let's start with Snowflake, i.e: Turquoise, White and Charcoal

                                 White Snowflakes on Turquoise and Turquoise Snowflakes on white

 

043 in White, Turquoise and Charcoal.

Open bakers! I LOVE,LOVE these!

 

Why? Because they are not divided that's why!

 

Here they are in White, Turquoise and Charcoal.

 

I was also able to capture the Pink Daisy bunch hanging out.

 

 

Here they are!

 

Now the really important piece here is the 045, it belonged to my paternal grandmother Gran-Mimi.

 My Dad actually remembers it from the diner table!

 

It might have contained sheperd's pie or oven baked pasta.

 

Also smilig for the camera is the 043, the space saver (large) and the open baker.

 

Missing from shot ans quite shy is the smaller space saver.

 

I hope to charm it into posing tomorrow.

 

Now on a whim I decided to clean the bottom shelf of one of the akward corner cabinets....

It should house a lazy susan, but instead it's baking central!

 

 

Square Utility dishes in Lime and Horizon

 

 

Lasagna pan in Lime

and a smaller version I had no idea existed in Flamingo.

 

 

Pie plates in Lime and Flamingo and round cake pan

in Lime,Flamingo and Pink Desert Dawn (top one)

 

Now I have a theory...

 

I think that Canadian Pyrex wasn't made with as much care as the one

made in good ol' U.S.A....

 

Why? Well most of my Canadian made pieces have a funky weird flaw inside, like it was in the mold....It looks like a wave and is not glazed so everything stains it.

 

And they are harder to clean.

 

I'll try to capture it for you tomorrow.

 

Well that's it for today because I am soooo tired and I heard Dan and

Bandito snoring to the sofa!

 

'Night night!

 

 

 

 

Almost Xmas!

This is the first year I feel so good @ Xmas. I feel calm, serene, in control, totally in the zone and full of Xmas joy. I think I finally realized that Xmas will never be perfect and I'm not stressed anymore.

Yesterday I baked some creme brulée, I've never made some, but I'm crossing my fingers it was super easy! It's for Veronica my step daughter, it's her favorite dessert and she orders it every chance she gets.

Here's all the ingredients and what do you know? I decided the best dishes to cook it in was the beautiful Pyrex Pixies.

Here they are ready for hot water for the bain marie. Thank god for food network! Watching all the shows helps with my technique.... 

Here's Veronica in all her Xmas glory. When I found this pic earlier this week, I cracked up I couldn't help myself! The hat and scarf are really meant for pets, My cats don't want to wear them, and I've tried numerous times....This was taken 5 years ago. I asked her permission before posting this,lol.

This morning, bright and early I baked this delicious french quatre quart (pound cake) with almonds for tomorrow. We are spending Xmas evening with friends (Like a mega sleep over) and I was asked to bring dessert...Of course this being Xmas, I couldn't just bring one thing!  

 So I'm bringing: The almond cake, Xmas shortbread, caramel corn, raspberry drop cookies and pfeffernusse (the round cookies in the box). These are my totaly fave Xmas treat!

I finally finished the tree last night. I realized that we bought a mutant totally uneven tree!

It is what it is.

We don't smoke but I love vintage ashtrays....What can a girl do? Here are my 2 faves: the brown one that doubles  as a magazine rack (1$ at a garage sale 10 years ago) and the bowling Hull heart ashtray, bought last year for 2$ at Finnegan's flea in Hudson.

Here's Henry hanging out with Santa and one of our dearly departed cats; Polpetonne (meatball), he was the nicest cat EVER and would fall asleep in my arms.

Dan is on vaccum duty, after it's shower time and the presents need to go under the tree :)

Merry Xmas to everyone!

P.s: Xmas will never, ever, ever be perfect, so take a chill pill ;)

   

Hummm Apple pie!!!

I had some requests for this recipe after this picture was viewed on Flickr. So I translated it, I hope the instructions are clear and that you will enjoy this dessert as much as we do!


Maple caramel apple pie

1 rectangle of puff pastry (from a frozen pack) Let thaw in fridg during the night
1 cup maple syrup
3 to 4 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons corn starch
6 to 7 big Cortland apples peeled and quartered (not McIntosh, they would make too much juice)

1 9 inch deep pie plate

Put the syrup in a pot on medium heat, add the butter to melt. Then mix the cornstarch with about 2 Tablespoons of water and add to the syrup. Bring to a boil until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool on the counter.
Mix the syrup (now caramel) with the apples and pour in the pie plate. Cover with the puff pastry that you rolled and tuck the dough around the edges. Cut some slits on top of the dough so steam can escape. Brush the crust with egg wash (If you want more browned, use just the yolk)
Bake in a 375F oven for an hour (45 min was just fine in my oven). You might want to put the pie plate on a cookie sheet to avoid a caramel mess in your oven…After removing it from the oven, wait at least 20 min to eat or if you wish you can invert it on a service plate and serve with ice cream or heavy cream. I have never inverted the pie, it sounded too risky to me…
Enjoy!!!

Fall is upon us....

I know fall is just around the corner, when I WANT to cook. Not just to eat, but for comfort. I NEED to cook and freeze and preserve. It must be some residual survival instinct! I admit it I suffer from the sqirrel syndrome! Am I preparing for a war? a hard winter? I don't know!

I can see the light changing and the crickets are there 24/7 chirpping away....

Well yesterday I baked a Pao de Milho (a portuguese corn bread). Unfortunatly I had no white corn flour on hand so I used yellow cornmeal, which can explain why it turned out like a big yellow brick!!! As you can see I used the Lime round utility dish (Pyrex of course...). I also made red lentil soup with lemon (DELICIOUS!) so that was last night supper.