Stuff I brought back...

Thanks for all the comments on the last post. It was so fun eating @ the Maine Diner. It would definitely be one of my regular spots if I lived in the area. I would try everything on the menu, even the New England boiled dinner, which you probably all know is boiled corned beef, boiled cabbage,boiled potatoes,boiled carrots....Sorry if I made you eat pig out, ditch your diet or fantasize too much about fried food....Believe it or not here @ casa de Vonlipi it is diet time too, well not really diet but changing the way we eat time and I'm proud to report I lost the Maine weight in record time!

Before the Maine escapade I was on a really strict low fat low card diet and I was hungry and angry all the time, the cats were startying to look mighty tasty! Now we are on the GI diet (glycemic index) and we eat all the time and just good for us food, so we'll see.

I'm sure you're wondering if I made purchases in Maine...besides the big bowl in the snow.

Of course I bought interesting things in Maine....

Not the cat! The Crazy Daisy casserole! I didn't have that size and I didn't have any casserole with the small flowers, 3 $ @ Cliff's in Scarborough. Boubou is garding it with his life, good Boubou.

I alway try to have some kind of linen on top of my stove to protect it from spatter. I found this vintagey looking tea towels at Crate and Barrel in Kittery, half price so both for 5$.

Don't they look good with my vintage Tupperware spoon rest from the Sally Ann? That was .99cents and I already started to melt it (accidentaly of course).

Here's Bob glancing at the Autumn Harvest glass canister I found @ Cliff's too....It was 5$ and I was glad to fork it because I'd never seen one in person!

Here it is in all its vintage glory, I will probably put peanuts in it.

I did buy other cool stuff that I was too lazy to capture, but will probably do so in the next few days....

Now about outlet shopping. It was really exotic to go to Kittery for me. I don't really shop retail since I don't work and when I do it's mostly stuff for the house or cheap clothes (like Joe Fresh). I realised I didn't want to go to Ralph Lauren or Calvin Klein (their clothes don't usually fit me), I had no use for Le Creuset (yes they have an outlet) and I don't have kids....So I settled on 3 stores:

Crate and Barrel, now I love seeing all these housewares. Piles of votives,pyramids of glasses,barrels of linens. That store makes me weak in the knees

Yankee Candles, I love seeing all those colors...., the jars all in neat rows, the smells! Speaking of smells...I'm often overwhelmed when I go there and I usually reach for my inhaler! LOL

I don't see the use in the BIG jars (how big can  a candle be!). I bought one once and I got sick of it and threw it away....But I usually dig in their bargain bins and bring home a small jar @ 50%off. I understand that for a lot of my american readers a Yankee Candle is something familiar and everyday, but here in Québec very few store sell them and they are crazy expensive!

Bass Shoes, I was always in love with their shoes as a teenager...Top siders, penny loafers,clogs....

In the last few years I got 2 pairs of penny loafers (yes I have pennies and nickels in my shoes) and I love them. This year I wanted some winter boots because mine are taking water and let's face it they stink.

Well I found quite the deals!  

This one is dark purple! Perfect for shovelling snow!

This one is a bit dressier and is water repellant.

I got both pairs for 80$ a saving of 210.00$. Now my feet will be warm and dry and un-stinky (for the time being!)

So that's it for today! Stay warm and keep thrifting! :)

   

Comfort Food Deliciousness

I'd been dreaming of Mexican lasagna for quite a while now...I couldn't find my recipe...rats

I checked the internet and here's what I found...

 MEXICAN LASAGNA


I believe it comes from A  Taste of Home. It was a Mexican lasagna (recipe below), with layers of yummy goodness!


1 1/2 pounds ground chicken (I used lean ground beef)

1 cup each diced onions and diced green bell pepper

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed (I used more)

1 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn

1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 cups pasta sauce  (I used plain ol' tomato sauce)
1 cup medium salsa

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro (more,more,more)

4 large or 8 small whole wheat flour tortillas

1 1/2 cups shredded light sharp cheddar cheese (I used a blend of light mozzarella and cheddar)

1/4 cup green onions (more)

sour cream, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9-inch casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside. In a large nonstick skillet, cook the ground chicken (or ground beef), onions, green pepper and garlic over medium-high heat until the chicken is no longer pink. Break up any large pieces of chicken as it is cooking.

Add black beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder and cumin. Cook and stir for 2 more minutes. Add pasta sauce, salsa and black pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro and remove from heat.

To assemble casserole, spread a third of the sauce mixture over bottom of casserole dish. Top with half of the tortillas, overlapping and cutting them as necessary to fit. Top with a third of the sauce mixture, followed by half of the cheese. Cover cheese with remaining tortillas, followed by remaining sauce. Sprinkle remaining cheese over sauce and top with green onions. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes.

As part of my mexican lasagna fantasy, I was assembling it in this particular Pyrex casserole. It the 475 size 2 1/2 quarts and it fits small tortillas perfectly!

I took it out of the oven and it looked pretty pale...so I removed the foil and stuck it back in the oven for about 15 mins.

Layers of yumminess!

Last layer....I was worried that the green onions would taste blah after cooking but they were heavenly!

All bubbly and hot from the oven!

I served it with a green salad. It was better than my old recipe!

Since I looooovvvveeee leftovers; I had enough of eveything for a smaller second one that is now waiting in the freezer! In Pyrex of course!

Have a great day!

O'Greatness....

Today I made the Seitan recipe O' Greatness.

Very easy to do! First pic the dry ingredients,second the wet ones.

Third you mix everything and mold it into a log and roll it in foil (fourth pic).

You then proceed to shove it into the oven.

After 90 min it was done- it had to cool before I tasted it. But I couldn't wait! It's tasty, but if you're a meat eater it's different allright....but it is growing on me!

Of course I forgot to take a picture of the finished product!!!

Now I'll be looking for some recipes to use it in. I remember tasting a seitan 'meat' pie and I feel it could be spot on in a stew....I am glad I tried this recipe, it was WAY cool.

I still have to try to make vegan italian sausages and maybe vegan lunch meat! I'll keep you posted!

Re-arranging

I do have a lot of Pyrex....but never too much! And I realized that I don't really use it in sets ( Even if I make the bowl set rotation in the kitchen...like a set du jour, or more a set du mois-I try to change the bowl set every month-not always working!!!)

I realized that I use my bowls in sizes: I cut ingredients for a recipe, I pull out a lot of small 501 bowls, bigger recipe bigger bowls (you get the picture? I'm sure you do!) So I decided to re-arrange my big armoire to feature all the 501s together, all the little casseroles....So far I have done only one shelf, but so far so good! Not working outside the house is pretty exhausting! LOL

And let's face it boys and girls I will have to start looking for work pretty soon :(

But I digress....

And thank you for asking I do feel better! lol

And I have finished season 2 of Angel...On to season 3!!!

I promise not to stuff myself with mindless tv. I will watch it in small doses (Only one or 2 episodes daily!!!)

Actually I have no idea if I'll be able to manage that....chukles...Is there a TV anonymous???? Or an internet anonymous???

Don't you just love the color of Pyrex? It still makes my heart sing!

But the collection takes a lot of place....Why, oh why didn't I fall in love with stamps.....coins???? something light and small???

Probably because I am so visual and the Pyrex colors and the patterns.... A true JOY for my color starved eyes.....Spring oh spring were art thou?

Ok my shakesperian spelling leaves something to be desired! Like all of you are so perfect!!!

LOL kidding,kidding of course you know I'm kidding....

Well folks, be good ,eat your veggies and above all be kind to your neighbors
(You never know they might have some Pyrex.....lol)

The loot....

This is most of it...I need inspiration to make the most of the dishes...lol

The first one is called Tulips (I call it Black Tulips) a 1957 cradled Xmas promo. I was not aware that it was so old. I tell you it is MINT!!! No scratches on the design..I did not know it came with a cradle...I got it in Maine ( a Pyrex hot spot...), it was on sale...9.00 (not too bad!)

Second one is a Town & Country casserole with lid (I think it is a 474) I did not have that size...8.00 minus 30%...cool 5.60! Yippee...

Next a 471 Crazy Daisy 5.00 minus 30%.... 3.50 cool..Did not have that size in that pattern

Last but not least...A 471 pink Butterprint! Ho man! How cool is that? 6.00 minus 30%...4.20! I had never seen one! And actually I saw it back in September but I could not make my mind..I was in Pyrex OVERLOAD!!! So I was lucky it waited for me....all dirty with a dead fly in it...LOL

I also picked up 2 small bowls with an unknown to me pattern, but I haven't taken a picture yet...Maybe tomorrow....:)

Vacation finds

Well here they are...The Pyrex I brought back from vacation. Some are from Brimfield and the rest is from Maine. The 3 Crazy Daisy nesting bowls came from Brimfield, were nearly new (the only thing missing was the box! They had the original cardboard separating them.) The vendor was asking 15$, but when it was time to pay, she said just gimme 12$. Super cool! A gift from Dad.
I found a really cool stand selling tons of Corelle dishes and Pyrex. Everything was 50% off. I got 2 Bradford house plates and the S&P shakers for 9$.
I found out that the Bradford House was the name of the lunch counter in the W.T. Grants departement store that went bankrupt in the 70's (I love getting some stories with my Pyrex).


The turquoise round casserole comes from Brimfield as well($5) and the large turquoise square bowl is from Maine and was 50% off, so was quite a steal at $11 in minty condition!!!

Small Butterprint casserole ($5 at Brimfield) gift from Dad and Town & Country small casserole ($3.20 in Maine). I will post the rest of the pictures probably next time.

Early B-Day!!!

Even if my birthday is next friday (the 22nd), I got to see my dad today and after lunch (at the Deer Garden in the Chinatown) I received some early B-Day presents!!!

HUUUUMMM Pyrex! Delicious! I believe these bowls are from the 80's, but I couldn't find any information to coroborate my findings.

Of course you recognize a nice set of Woodlands. I find them much more attractive in person, they are all shiny and I love the design, I just feel the colors lack PUNCH!

And last but not least a nice 475 Crazy Daisy casserole....I can already smell the Shepherd's Pie...
I also got the latest mario Batali cook book "Italian Grill" and two kitty themed books "Les Chats vu par Bruno Masure" and "La grace et l'independance du chat". I am a happy camper!!!

My Pyrex!!!

One of my off-time project was to take pictures of the Pyrex! So I started today! First of you have the Crazy Daisy pattern (two versions).

Then you have the Butterfly Gold (again two versions).The 501 with the small design was in my cabinets...un-noticed for quite a while! This is one of my favorite patterns (but it had to grow on me!)

I love the Horizon pattern specially the color. That blue is soooooo gorgeous!

I really love the instant coffee carafe on the left, because the promotional sticker is still partially on it, and you have the french and english version proving that it was a promotional gift when you bought Maxwell House coffee. The other was a gift from my father.

That is it for today, but I will continue to post pictures of my Pyrex collection.

One bowl at a time :)

A quarter! That is what I paid for this delicious Crazy Daisy 442 bowl! The Pyrex god was smiling on me today!

I was really pooped because I was coming back from the post office on my bike and i had to take a rest. So I said to myself: I will sit on the church steps and relax a bit. Well every Wednesday they open their church thrift store...It is mostly clothes, but i took a chance and I saw this sweet bowl waving. It has a bit of damage on the paint, but for .25 cents, I couldn't leave it there.

I find it always amusing when the persons working at these thrift stores look at me like I was mentally deranged to buy Pyrex. One time the lady told me: give me .10 cents and go! She didn't even want to give me a bag! Like I had puke all over me! And it happened again today, she just looked at me (a you are crazy lady look) and with a dismissive wave said: Just gimme .25 cents. Well good for me! I have to watch my budget...