I have been reveling in these Summer moments. I love the smells, the food, the brightness and of course, the summer decorating. I have been up to my usual with decorating, trying new recipes and crafting. Hopefully you will find something of interest here that will spark joy and/ or your imagination.
Recipes
Dutch Baby (thekitchn.com)
(A German pancake in a cast iron pan which is light and fluffy but primarily, delish! It is easy but makes you look like an award winning chef to your friends.)
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole or 2% milk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Powdered sugar, maple syrup, and jam, for serving4
Blend the batter: Place the flour, milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a blender or food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Blend for 10 seconds, scrape down the sides, and then blend for another 10 seconds. The batter will be quite loose and liquidy. Rest the batter: Leave the batter in the blender and set aside to rest 20 to 25 minutes. This gives the flour time to absorb the liquid. Heat the pan and oven: Meanwhile, place a 9 to 10-inch oven safe skillet on the middle rack of the oven and remove any racks above it. Heat the oven to 425°F. Melt the butter: When ready to make the pancake, remove the skillet from the oven using oven mitts and place it on top of the stove. Add the butter and swirl the pan to melt the butter and coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Add the batter: Pour the batter on top of the butter. Tilt the pan if needed so that the batter runs evenly to all sides. Place the skillet in the oven. Bake the Dutch baby: Bake until the Dutch baby is puffed, lightly browned across the top, and darker brown on the sides and edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve while hot: You can either serve from the pan or transfer the Dutch baby to a serving platter. Dust with powdered sugar. Cut into wedges and serve with maple syrup or jam.
*Notes
I used a whisk rather than a blender. It set about as long as it took for me to heat the pan and add the butter. It came out perfectly!
Sheet Pan Pancakes (dinnerthendessert.com)
- 3 cups flour
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 2 large eggs
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
- 1 cup strawberries , sliced
- 1 cup blueberries
- Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Add the dry ingredients and whisk together, then add the wet and combine fully.
- Spray a half-size baking sheet with baking spray and pour the pancake batter onto the pan, spreading evenly.
- Put the strawberries and blueberries evenly over the batter and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.
Sheet Pan Eggs (thehouseofthesmiths.com)
15 eggs 1/3 cup milk Salt & Pepper Cheese Bacon -really, just anything else you like. Veggies are great in this too. – Preheat oven to 350 degrees. – Generously coat a sheet pan with nonstick spray. – Mix all of your ingredients together. – Pour them onto the sheet pan. – Bake for 18-25 minutes (they are done when the center no longer wiggles) – Let cool. – Cut into squares and package in individual portions for easy reheating.
One might get the idea I like breakfast or something!!
Craft Time
I bought this wood anchor cut out at Dollar Tree (hey, at least I am consistent and you know what to expect from me!). I buy cute napkins whenever I see them. This napkin came from, wait for it…………..wait…………. The Christmas Tree Shoppe! Shocked you, right? I lightly sanded the anchor and dusted it off. I separated the top ply of the napkin. Then I used Mod Podge and a brush to coat the anchor. I carefully laid the one ply from the napkin on the wet anchor. Then with plastic wrap over it I smoothed it out. I do have a brayer and used that to smooth it out more. Once I was happy with that, I gave it another coat of Mod Podge and allowed it to dry. After it was completely dry, I used fine sand paper to take of the excess napkin from the edges. You need to be careful doing this and only hit the edge or you will rip the napkin on the top of your project. As a final touch I made a little decorative dangly with jute and a seashell.
This is a bicycle wreath form that I purchased at Dollar Tree. The flowers and tulle came from there as well. It was a snap to put together. I used floral wire to attach the flowers to the wreath form. Many wreaths look really nice when their adornments are off center as this does.
This charger was picked up at Big Lots for $3. I had the ribbon on hand and printed the lettering out of vinyl on my Cricut. There is no reason you couldn’t just write on the charger also. I had it on a plate stand but have now added a hanger made out of jute and a popsicle stick so that I could hang it.
I used a 10 inch foam wreath form from Dollar tree and ordered the little drink umbrellas from Amazon. The starfish suspended in the middle also came from Dollar Tree. I used jute to create the hanger and to suspend the starfish. The pick had to be cut off so that they were able to rest on the form. As you are aware, the picks are long so that they can be put in beverages. You just don’t need them that long for this project. It is a good idea to stick some glue on the tip of the pick before pressing it into the wreath form as they tend to randomly fall out if you don’t.
A month or so ago, I participated in a flea market. The lady next to our table didn’t want to have to pack up these wooden spools of thread so she sold a shoebox full to me for $1. I used a 10 inch wreath form to create this display. The needle book in the center is a double from my collection of needle books. I just love the bright colors and the assortment of sizes!
Dollar tree had orb wreath forms. I grabbed a couple but was unsure of how I was going to use them. I checked around online and got some ideas. I used the pine strips, like you use to hide the trunk of an artificial tree, to cover the orb entirely. Then I had little fairy lights that I wove in and among the greenery. Finally, for summer, a little flamingo.
Recent Finds
I picked up this vintage radio at a sale for $20. I have taken all the “guts” out. I plan on using chalk paint to dress it up and putting the radio dial on knobs back on. The finishing touch will be LED lights inside which will glow through the cloth where the speaker was. I also plan on putting LED lights in red behind the radio dial so they glow around the dial. Pictures to follow as I work on it.
This lamp shade is another flea market find. I just adored the graphics and had the perfect spot for it!
Hacking Life
- Did you know you can make your own “no melt” bird suet? I have a lot of birds in my backyard that eat at the feeders on my deck. During the pandemic the “no melt” suet seemed to always be out of stock. There are a lot of recipes out there. I am still trying to perfect my blend. Here is a basic recipe that you can tweek to suit your needs.
- 2 cups Quick Cooking Oats
- 2 cups Cornmeal
- 1 cup Flour
- 1/3 cup White Sugar
- 1 cup Chunky Peanut Butter
- 1 cup Lard
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Combine the oats, cornmeal, flour, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the peanut butter on top of the dry ingredients.
- Melt the lard in a microwave safe container (I use my glass measuring cup). It should take about 30 to 45 seconds to melt the lard. (I usually stop microwaving before it’s totally melted and just stir it to melt the last remaining bits).
- Pour the melted lard over the ingredients in the mixing bowl and stir to combine everything together.
- Press the mixture into individual molds (Recycled containers from store bought bird cakes work well). Put the molds into the refrigerator to harden a bit more. This recipe makes about four suet cakes.
- Once hardened the cakes can be removed from the molds and put into suet cage containers outdoors for the birds to enjoy. themakeyourownzone.com
- It is going to be time for corn on the cob. If you would like to take the corn off the cob you can do it easily without losing any kernels by using a bundt pan or an angel food cake pan. Just anchor the cob in the hole in the center and using a sharp knife shave down the sides. All the kernels fall in the pan!
- Coca Cola is an excellent rust buster. Whatever you need to de-rust just soak it in Coke for awhile! This ability is due to the citric acid that is contained in the soft drink.
- Cottage cheese and sour cream will last twice as long if you store it upside down. A vacuum is formed when this is done which keeps the products from spoiling.
- Did you know that if you are out of baking powder you can make your own? Two teaspoons cream of tartar and one teaspoon of baking soda equals one Tablespoon of baking powder.
- Do you ever get itchy ears? This happens mainly due to allergies. Just swab your ear with olive oil on a cotton swab and it usually helps.
As Porky Pig would say, “Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th… That’s all, folks!” See you next month and enjoy the your Summer moments!
