Summer Winds Down

For some reason, even though it has been hot, I have been in the kitchen and I have several recipes to share with you (it might be my air conditioning) . I also have some uses for vinegar that are timely, a new hobby, a product review, and things for our furry friends. So once again a mixed bag of hacks for you!

Recipes

Lemon Blueberry Bread with Lemon Glaze (Karen Beth, this is for you) *livewellbakeoften.com

• 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) oil coconut, vegetable, or canola
• 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 cup (230 grams) sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) fresh lemon juice
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup (150 grams) blueberries + 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

Lemon Glaze:

• 1 cup (120 grams) confectioners sugar
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) fresh lemon juice use more or less as needed

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, sour cream, eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract until fully combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
• In a separate bowl, toss the blueberries with the 2 teaspoons of flour. Then, fold the blueberries into the batter.
• Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If needed, cover loosely with foil for the last 10-15 minutes of baking to prevent excess browning.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 20 minutes in the loaf pan. Carefully remove from the loaf pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze:

• Once the bread has cooled, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice. Start with two tablespoons of lemon juice and whisk well. If your mixture is too thick, slowly add up to one more tablespoon of lemon juice. You want the glaze to be thin enough to drizzle, but thick enough to set up on the bread. If the glaze is too thin, add more powdered sugar as needed.
• Using a spoon, drizzle the glaze on top of the bread and spread it around. The glaze should harden up a little more after about 15-20 minutes.

I used parchment paper to line the baking pan and it worked wonderfully. To call this a bread gives it very little credit. It is almost a dessert. I relish it with a cup of hot Earl Grey tea!

Mediterranean Red Lentil Soup *connoiseurusveg.com

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 1/2 cups dried red lentils
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice, or to taste
• Harissa paste, to taste (optional)
• Fresh chopped cilantro or parsley, for serving

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, cumin and coriander, and sauté for another minute, until the garlic becomes very fragrant.
3. Stir in the lentils, broth and tomatoes. 
4. Bring the liquid to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, and allow to continue simmering, uncovered, until lentils are soft, about 20 minutes. Thin the soup with some water if it becomes too thick while simmering.
5. Stir in the lemon juice and harissa (if using). Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Ladle into bowls and top with parsley and/or cilantro.

This soup is deliciouso! It was better the second and third reheating than the first. You should definitely try this one!

Crunchy Broccoli Salad *mamamanagement.blogspot.com

2 pkg uncooked ramen noodles
2.5 oz sliced almonds (or just a big handful)
3/4 c. sunflower seeds
1/2 c. finely chopped onion (whatever kind you have)
1 bag broccoli slaw
2 ramen noodle seasoning packets
3/4 c. oil (use what you like; I used canola oil)
1/2 c. white vinegar
1/3 c. sugar
optional chopped grilled chicken

Combine the first 5 ingredients in large bowl. In separate bowl, combine the next 4 ingredients, mixing well with a whisk until sugar completely dissolves. (Note: I went a little light on the oil and sugar measurements; also note: you could use a little sesame oil as part of your total oil measurement.) Pour over noodle mix. Top with chicken, if desired (I kept mine all veggie). Mix to combine. Refrigerate 1-4 hours depending on how crunchy vs. soft you like the noodles. Mix again before serving. Enjoy!

When I made my salad I did not put the almonds or sunflower seeds in since I don’t like that sort of thing in my salads. It was never the less delicious and I had requests for the recipe at the pot luck dinner I took it to. I also didn’t add chicken as there were some vegetarians in attendance at dinner and I wanted it to be an option for them. I chilled the salad for about an hour before serving. It was crunchy and tasty. The next day since I had a little left over I had it for lunch. It was also just as tasty but with a different mouth feel. End result is that I liked it both ways. You want it more crunchy chill it less before serving.

Quick Pickle

I had some green beans that I bought at the Farmer’s Market and I wanted to try something different so I pickled them. They turned out great and I would recommend you giving it a try. You can pickle anything using this recipe.

Fill a pint jar with 1/2 pound green beans, 4 sprigs of dill and 1 Tbsp of black peppercorns.

In a small saucepan place the following ingredients;

3/4 c. distilled white vinegar 1/2 c. water 1 Tbsp kosher salt 1 Tbsp sugar 1 1/2 tsp mustard seeds 1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds 1 glove of garlic thinly sliced

Bring the contents of the pan to a boil. Lower the heat and gently simmer for about 5 minutes. While still hot pour over the green beans and seansonings you placed in the jar. Let cool for at least 10 minutes and place in the refrigerator.

New Hobby

I recently discovered book folding. It is a lot of fun. The end results make nice decor and great gifts. Once you get started on a pattern it is hard to stop because you want to see the project completed.

Book folding, for those who have never heard of it, is following a pattern to create images or words in a book by folding the pages. The patterns are usually in centimeters so you need a ruler that has centimeters to complete the project. The patterns tell you how many pages in a book you need and what the measurements on each page are. For each page you make two measurements and two folds at right angles to those measurements.

My first project was a free pattern for a heart. When it was completed I covered the book with red tissue paper and used red ribbon to further enhance it.

For my next project I chose to do a starfish. I purchased the pattern on Etsy for a little over $4. I have finished folding and I delicately brushed some light brown eye-shadow on the folded pages with a brush. I am going to pick up some sandpaper to cover the book with and I have a couple of small shells to further embellish the project with. Below is a picture of it so far.

Product Review

I am including this for my fellow back sleepers. The last few years I have found sleeping on my back to be the most comfortable. Usually, (like always) I have put pillows under my knees. This is a pain since the pillows shift and ruin my sleeping mojo! I began doing some research on knee pillows. Many of them are for side sleepers so for those of you who sleep on your side they are out there. I did find one for back sleepers and it is wonderful! I found it on Amazon for less than $40. I had two $10 gift cards for Amazon that I earned through using the Honey app for shopping ( https://www.joinhoney.com/feed ). So, basically, I stole the knee pillow for under $20! Love that! It is super comfortable, never slips or slides and I would highly recommend it to others. https://www.amazon.com/Ebung-The-Best/dp/B07KFPQTM8/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3K4WNLGJAWB2W&keywords=knee+pillow+for+back+pain&qid=1565964555&s=gateway&sprefix=knee+pillow%2Caps%2C353&sr=8-6

Hacks

*Vinegar is a handy thing to have around your house. I have a difficult time with some weeds growing between the blocks of sidewalk in front of my steps. I pull them but can’t get all of it. I really don’t want to use pesticides. Some white vinegar takes care of them really well. I might have to do it twice a summer but it is so easy and effective. Just pour some in the weedy area and wait a day or so………………gone!

*Vinegar is also good for getting rid of fruit flies. Just put some apple cider vinegar in a dish. Mix a drop of dish soap with it and cover with plastic wrap. Use a utensil to poke holes in the plastic wrap. The fruit flies are attracted to the vinegar and then can’t get out of the trap!

*I recently found pads that can be washed to use in your crisper tray. They make your fruit and vegetables last longer and keep the tray cleaner. I have liked them so far. I bought a pack of 4 at TJMaxx for under $5.

Dog Things

*If you own a dog and want to travel with your pet there’s an app for that! The bringfido app tells you the pet friendly establishments where you will be traveling. A friend used this on her last trip and found it very helpful!

*I recently read about and then made a great chew toy for my puppy. She absolutely loves it! You simply take an empty water bottle (soda bottles won’t work because they are thicker and don’t make that crinkly sound) and a sock. Put the empty water bottle in the sock and tie it shut. Right there is hours of entertainment for your pooch.

*If you walk your dog and like to stop here and there I would recommend putting a caribiner on your leash handle. If you need to stop to tie your shoe or for any reason you can use the caribiner to hook the leash (and the dog) to something so your hands are free and Fido is safe.

*If you have a puppy or kitten that likes to chew or bite things then vinegar is your friend here too. If you mix 2 cups of cider vinegar and one cup of white vinegar in a spray bottle you can spray electrical cords or whatever you need with this. It is a deterrent for them since they don’t like the taste or smell.

*Just as a last little note for pets………….remember to put your hand on the sidewalks on these hot days. If it is very hot to your hand it is hot for Fido too. Then you can walk them on the grass instead.

Enjoy the rest of your summer. I hope it is great! I already have a list started for life hacking in my next post. See you in September!!!!