Deelish Dish

sweet, sweet victory

So guess what, peeps? I have some brag-worthy news for you. Two things: A) I made some muy delicioso strawberry-peach jam. And B) My child now sleeps through the night. 

Did you read that? Through the night. As in, eight consecutive hours of peace for the whole family. Thank you, thank you, sleep training gods. It was nine days of sleep-deprived-hallucinatory-constant-verge-of-tears-guilt-ridden torture but alas, it was worth it. Daytime naps are a cinch and I even feel confident that I can leave for a moms' night out. The faint sweet smell of my old life is in the air and mmmm, it's intoxicating.

On top of this victory, I also conquered some peaches and strawberries. Together, in one jar. And oh my goooodness, my genius knows no boundaries. A peach-perfect pairing. (I'm a loser.)

They aren't the best photos and the process was also not the best documented of all time but take my word for it: capitalize on the summer now and get jamming. Hit the Farmers Market and find the best deal—negotiating towards closing time works wonders. Then grab your supplies, an apron, turn off the phone and the music on, and get working. Neighbors and Christmas-gift-receivers alike will be so thankful you did.

If you decide you can part with a few jars. I don't blame you if you can't.

how to make a vision board

Ever heard of vision boards? Inspiration collages? Mind maps?  You know, the law of attraction meets the power of visualization? Well, today's guest post from the lovely Saskatch is about to go all Oprah on ya! Thanks again, Katch!

Hello again, Deelish Dish readers. I know we're new friends—well, friends of friends, really—but grab a latte and your best piece of gossip to share because I'm going to open up to y'all. I've had a rough go of it lately. And by rough, I mean what Dooce would call "white girl troubles" and by go of it, I mean life. I've had a solid run of deflating work days, stress-induced fever blisters, two nasty bouts of poison oak, a dash of staph, dreaded suppository antibiotics to help said staph, majah mood swings (my boyfriend will be welcomed to the pearly gates for this month!), and perpetual allergies. Cue the world's tiniest violin. I know I have a fantastic, blessed life, and I'm grateful for it. But, you've got to admit, it's been an off month for ol' Saskatch. My biggest challenge thus far—this month and in life—has been knowing exactly what I want in life...a key step in attaining goals. Do I want to work from home? Travel? Get hitched? Enter, vision boarding.

I know what some of you may be thinking because I thought it, too! I'm not trying to promote The Secret or O Magazine's latest "Live Your Best Life" article—vision boards are something people in my family have been creating since before the dawn of daytime television. The process is simple: grab your scissors and start flipping through magazines (or open your laptop and google your little heart out), looking for pictures that represent things you want. The idea is to find visuals of your hopes for the future, and to look at those visuals every day. Travel, check. Babies, check. Ranunculus in the garden, check. Your vision board can be as simple or as elaborate as you wish. Nothing is too big (meaning don't sell yourself short because you don't think you could ever afford a trip to Iceland or because it might be hard to find that MFEO love for which you fall madly, truly, deeply...This is a board of dreams, after all.) Once your board is as you want it, get into the habit of looking at it everyday. It can be a little frustrating if you don't see immediate results, but stick with it. A few different things have actually manifested for me—things that I NEVER would have believed would come my way. 

christmas craft: candy wreaths

Ho...ho...hooooo! Guys, it's only a few days til Christmas! Are you done baking, crafting, wrapping, spreading Christmas cheer? I'm not, pshhh. I've barely started. Could be the economy, could be the winter climate getting a late start, could be the fact that I'm focused on the task I have to do in three weeks (hint: ouch), but the holidays just came up and screamed in my ear! Alright alright, I'll put on my sweater and get on it.

This year, I'm focused on low-key and cheap across the board—gifts that won't break my back or the bank. And since my sister took off two weeks from work to have her tonsils taken out (I did it five years ago and it hurts mama, it hurts real bad) we've been two invalid slash pioneer women (no, not this pioneer woman, or this one for that matter) equipped with scissors and rolling pins. And this week, our project was Christmas candy wreaths!

Our favorite waitress at our favorite local restaurant makes these wreaths every year and sells them at craft fairs or gives them as gifts to families with children. They aren't completely cheap to make since each one requires 4-5 big bags of candy but they are really easy and adorably festive. Kids go ga-ga for them and from a crafter's perspective, they are extremely satisfying to labor over and complete. (Did somebody say "labor"?)

All you need is a metal hanger, some wire to wrap the candy with, tons of small pieces of candy, ribbon for decoration, and a pair of scissors to attach if you choose to (the candy can technically be ripped off but we ribbon a pair of cheap scissors to the wreath for cutting, almost advent-style). We buy our supplies at the local Dollar Store or Smart 'N' Final; steel wire can be found at the hardware store for less than 10 bucks.

We set up our cozy crafting zone with a good Christmas movie ("Oh no, John, I don't hate you. I just hate basketball.") and some hot soup or cider, and dump a pile of candy in the middle of the table. We then start by stretching a metal clothing hanger into a perfect circle, cutting about a foot of wire, and wrapping candy around the frame. You can choose to loosely wrap (about 150 pieces of candy) or tightly wrap (about 200 pieces of candy). I prefer a thick, compact wreath with a plethora of various treats. Smaller wrapped pieces work best but you can try medium-sized chocolates and others, being careful not to melt it all with the heat from your hands. The twisted ends of small candies also make it easier to wire to the frame.

It's a slow process at first but you get the hang of it and work into a rhythm. It took me 2-3 hours for my first wreath but once you have the wrapping and tightening parts down it goes much faster. The trick is to wrap 10-15 pieces quickly and tightly to the hanger, and then compact by sliding them down (and hiding the wire work essentially).

After the first foot of wire is gone, cut another and attach to the frame. You'll use 4-5 separate pieces of wire instead of one long one that gets in the way of wrapping in and out quickly.

Try to keep the wire nice and taut as you go. I wrap the wire once around each end of candy but, if it feels slack or the candy is big or difficult to hold down, you can wrap as many times as needed until it's secured.

fall project: scented teacup candles

A week or so ago we experienced a crazy thunder and lightning storm followed by rain where I thought, Finally! Fall is here, let the festivities begin! as I've prematurely done three or four times already. And of course, I was tortured by the return of brutal heat, that I swear is here to stay. Argh.

Well, during that two day period of deliciously cozy weather (I may be part Addams, part Oregonian but who doesn't love a good storm?!), my sister showed up with a box of firewood, her sleeves rolled, ready for a craft project. We were feeling ambitious enough to try cinnamon stick-wrapped candles in addition to teacup, but by god it was the most difficult, expensive idea (five or six sticks to a $7 bottle!) we've ever had. On the contrary, the scented teacups were easy as pie and quite cheap to make. Don't even get me started on the trip to Michaels!! Love. That. Place. Stop. It.

And they were fast, since we used microwaveable wax and skipped the whole glue-gun nonsense. Who owns a glue gun?! I'm not as crafty as I thought because I definitely don't. Added to my Christmas list.

We melted the wax in just a few minutes, added a few drops of cinnamon scent, wrapped the wicks (that came primed already, you'll need to look up priming if yours aren't) around pencils and set them in the cups, and poured. Then we let them set and voila! Cute, vintage, sweet-smelling candles perfect for fall. Along with tea, spiced bread, scary movies, apples galore, seasoned firewood and pumpkins, you've got to be stocked with an assortment of candles.

I love to eat by candlelight [insert husband: "Um, I can't see my food."] or have some casually lit by the fireplace or on the coffee table on blustery nights, with a movie or puzzle going. The light is soothing, flattering, and altogether cozy cozy, which—surprise!—is my obsession year-round but especially come autumn. There are few things in life I love as much as fall. 

decoupage holiday boxes

My mother has been crafting decoupage boxes since she was a little girl, giving them away as gifts upon gifts or just keeping for storing craft accessories and knick knacks. I have always wanted to sit down and have her teach me the ways of elegant decoupaging, and with our holiday cookie baking tradition about to start, thought they'd make festive two-in-one gifts for a few special recipients. We spent the last three days covered in glue and glitter (everywhere I went: "Do you know you have glitter on your face?") and now that I've made two and seen the amount of time and patience they require, I'm very tempted to keep them for myself because I doubt anyone will know the blood, sweat, and tears that went into them. Along with delicious cookies, I will have left a bit of my soul in each box.

Traditionally, you can decoupage with any type of scrap paper: newspapers, magazines, wrapping paper, photos, stickers, etc. We used mostly wrapping paper (for images of Santa, holly, snow, etc), post cards (used/recycled as well as vintage booklets from a local stationery store) and then these really old sheets of flower cut-outs from god knows where. My mother was given them as a child and are still beautiful even though brittle and yellowing. I hardly wanted to touch them because she shrieked in agony every time I raised the scissors. We used these old-fashioned cards and stickers which you can find at stationery or book stores;  the specifically decoupage cut-outs are carried at most craft stores like Michaels or Ben Franklin.

We scooped up a stack of tin boxes on sale at The Container Store for a dollar a piece but you can use any type of cardboard or plastic box too. Shoe boxes are always excellent but I was really excited about these tin ones because they'll last longer and are visibly prettier beneath the paper. I start at the center by gluing down a 4" x 6" post card and work my way out. I found a perfect already-decorated vintage card that my cousin gave me with a gift last Christmas and features soft tones of blues and reds. The center image is important in that the smaller images encircling it should pattern its colors.

I like to place big, bold images in the corners of the lid to draw the eye, filling in the spaces between with overlapping smaller ones. When cutting out the images, it's best to follow their natural shapes rather than making blunt circles or squares around them. I did most of the arranging as I went instead of laying it all out and then gluing but it might be wise to play around with the pieces first for a rough idea.

My second box had a fun image of Santa at the center, with bold greens and reds but balanced nicely with lighter hues of whites and pinks. I like using images with white parts (like clouds, snow, flowers, etc) because these are the parts that, once everything is down and outlined with glue and glitter, shimmer and sparkle brilliantly in the light.

The sides of the box are not as high maintenance as the lid but still require some strategy. I follow the same ratio of big, bold images to smaller ones but with some random fun items thrown in. I also try to wrap the paper continuously around the corners but leave a little room at the top so the box can close without later crunching paper and glitter.

The part of gluing and glittering is completely optional: many decoupagers, at this point, cover the whole thing with varnish and they're done. My mother's process is so masterful and elegant, and doesn't include varnish but rather ultra-fine translucent glitter and clear-drying glue. (She mentioned that she has added a layer of clear varnish in the past but it ends up muting the colors and shimmer.) We start with the sides and trace along the top edge of paper with glue. We then pick out the lightest areas and highlight those bits depending on their shapes (i.e. Santa's white beard and hat, the tips of a rose, or snow). We then use an iridescent clear .035 glitter flake (which my mother emphasizes as a more-than-glitter glitter because regular glitter will dry to look like sugar) and sprinkle along the whole surface, with something below to catch the extra glitter (it's expensive so best to salvage and re-use). We give the area a quick bump of the hand to force the glitter in and shake off to dry.

The glittering of the lid follows like the sides except I like to outline around the frame of the center card as well as within it. This is actually very important as the center should be the focus and appropriately accentuated. Once the glue completely dries, you'll be able to see how all the colors and textures sparkle together.

advent-ageous

(photo courtesy of Martha Stewart)

It's only, what, the second week of November and already my mother has given me a Christmas advent calendar. How old am I? I mean, I know I have a (way) younger brother for whom we all try to be festive while we still can (i.e. he still believes in Santa) but come on. We all know you can't say no to your mother in these situations so I guess I'll just have to rise to it and eat the darn chocolate. Gosh!

As kids, my siblings and I grew up with the simple chocolate calendars from Cost Plus. We fought over the best cover design and then ceremoniously colored the backs while eating split pea soup in front of the fire. As we got older, we were upgraded with actually-edible-and-quite-good Heidel chocolate calendars (also found at Cost Plus). We then moved out and on, leaving my mother to spoil our youngest brother with the biggest, most extravagant advent calendars we'd ever seen. Not even chocolate, oh no, but a full wall-size fabric snowman with giant pockets full of various toys that the "elves" had left in the night. What the? That kid lives a charmed life and it will be my duty to remind him of it for the rest of his life. But alas, I'm over it, and what I'm wondering these days is how I'm going to pass this tradition on to my children. Will it be fun boxed ones or something totally different like this, a la Martha? If it were for me, I'd be in love with something like this or this. Sooo cute! But we're talking kids here, so really I'm looking for something along these lines but homemade and pieced together with love.

Any ideas?

pump up the jam

All summer, I have been planning an all-out jam-making day but kept managing to distract myself with other things (read: work). That is, until I hit breaking point at the supermarket the other day. I stumbled upon nectarines on sale for a dollar a pound and EUREKA: the time has come to make jam. Sweet, sticky, delicious, homemade preserves. It’s such an aestival activity, what better way to celebrate the end of summer? You can enjoy it all year long when it’s sealed in a jar. So I enlisted the help of my mother and we puuump-pumped up the jam together. In total, we canned about 20-30 jars which would take over my Polly Pocket cupboards but merely added a small sub-section to her already established collection. I took home half the batch and, although I’m not really into toast or pastries for breakfast, I can’t wait to spread it all over anything and everything within reach. Crepes? Mmm. Meat? Yes, please! This shoe? Why not! And I am still in the honeymoon phase of amateur cooking, where I look at my creation and think: I made you. And with some festive packaging and primping, they’ll make wonderful holiday gifts. HO HO HO…guess who’s comin’ to town!

Choose ripe, unbruised nectarines. Prepare the fruit in the way that best fits your jam texture preference (i.e. larger pieces for chunkier jam, peel or no peel, etc). Peeling the nectarines isn't necessary but optional. If I had used peaches, I'd probably have peeled them because some people are fuzz-phobes (I won't name names).

I quadrupled a single recipe to yield so many jars of jam, so appropriately used a large stock pot. You can use a smaller pot depending on your batch size, and of course, the fruit will boil and reduce a bit.

Before you yell at me, I'll say it: I used pectin. The old-fashioned recipes don't use this gelling agent but it's a great shortcut to help your jam (or jelly) set. It's natural and not unhealthy, it just gets a bad rep because it's not part of the old school jam-making process. I used Sure Jell powdered pectin; you can buy it in powder or liquid form, sold in most grocery stores.

I bought brand-new canning jars from the grocery store but you can use recycled ones too, just be sure to sanitize them again. Wash and boil, leave in pot of simmering hot water while cooking. Use a jar lifter to remove them as they will be very hot! Adding a sliver of butter or margarine to the cooking fruit (above: bottom right photo) will take the extra foam away.

Cooked and ready to be canned! I like chunky jam like this but you can chop or mash it more at the beginning to achieve a smoother consistency. Play with it and make it your own. You're the boss.

Using a funnel, ladle quickly into jars. I tried to aim for one ladle of fruit chunks, another of just liquid from the pot. That way, each jar will be 50-50 and the last few jars from the pot won't be without the fun! Make sure to fill each jar to the brim (about an 1/8 of an inch from the top) so it will seal and store properly.

After filling each jar, we inverted them one by one to speed up the sealing process. This is just a step to do while set aside, but the jars need to be boiled again or they will spoil.

This is the best part. The jars vacuum seal and make a loud "pop!" sound as the lids dent inwards. (My mom shrieks every time, "Woop! Did you hear that?") You can test each lid before storing by pushing on it, to be sure it's safely sealed.