RecycledArt

I can not remember where I read about this.. so no this is not MY recipe. But it is certainly the greatest thing since sliced bread. I use it religiously now when baking and it’s worked like a charm every time. Even on brownies!! (My brownies always used to stick bad!)

Ingredients :

1/3 Cup Flour
1/3 Cup Shortening
1/3 Cup Vegatable/Canola Oil

Blend until it forms peaks and you’re ready to go. I use a smaller amount because I don’t cook in massive amounts very often. So one cup prepared in advance lasts me a good long while. But if you’re a heavy baker, the amounts can be upped so long as the ratio stays the same.

ALSO, a little trick that may apply to other methods of greasing the pan too, if I use a pastry brush and brush it on I get better results. I’ve tried using a paper towel to wipe it on and I think the brush works best every time.

In our lives, there’s always ‘tomorrow’. Some of us put off today what we can do tomorrow. Some of us just look forward to tomorrow and the tomorrow after that…

Tonight, tomorrow takes on a whole new meaning. Tomorrow will be a whole new day, a whole new era for this country. We will either have the first black President or we will have the first woman Vice President. It’s truly an amazing race, an amazing time in our history, in our future.

I’ve been watching the election news all day. I find it amazing at seeing so very many people getting out and voting. I find it touching to see (finally) so very many people getting involved in the very workings of the government, in their country, in their hearts.. This country is our heart. It is the very backbone of our every single day. Because I live here, I have freedoms I wouldn’t have in other countries. I face challenges I wouldn’t elsewhere as well. But I welcome those challenges and face them gladly because I still have my other freedoms.

Speaking of challenges, the hologram reporting on CNN tonight is just incredible. Some are making fun of it, but the technology is incredible!

10:00 pm CST

CNN has just projected that Barrack Obama will in fact be the next President. The first black President of the United States. Isn’t that amazing? They are showing a whooooooolllllllllllleeeeee lot of people going crazy happy.

Yanno, I am seriously surprised at how they ‘call’ all of this before the votes are even counted. The polls were closing on the west coast as they were giving their projection. If it were up to me, media outlets would be fined out the ass for these kinds of ‘projections’. The entire process is ridiculous. The map should be colored as the votes hit 100% and not a second before. But then that’s just another way the media truly controls the world. They don’t control the election, but they take away from the beauty of the process itself. They’ve made it appear as though the entire west coast is not needed at all for voting.

10:14 pm CST

When John Brown raided Harpers Ferry back in 1859, I wonder if he ever dreamed, if it was even truly conceivable to him back then that 149 years later a black man would be elected as President of the United States. It’s just amazing to me.

McCain just super scored in my book with his concession speech. He’s a good man or at least he has a great speech writer.

This little jewel is actually about the size of a basketball. But it’s so gorgeous so far. This is my first paper mache since junior high! I am having a blast, honestly.. a little messy but a load of fun.

Instructions:

1. Fill a plastic grocery bag (ie: Wal-Mart sacks work great) with more plastic sacks until you get a form size of the pumpkin you would like to make. The bag doesn’t have to be completely full, mine wasn’t by any means.

2. Poke a small dowel rod or pencil down into the center of the sacks to pull the shape inwards. Tie a string around the pencil and begin looping it around the sack and around the rod with each loop. Tie the end of the string off and poke any extra string into the top openings.

I looped mine twice on each groove I wanted on the pumpkin and I also pulled mine rather tight. I wanted a nice deep groove to make the pumpkin more unique.

3. Tear a newspaper into strips. The tearing allows the fibers of the paper to more easily mesh back together once glued.

4. The paste… Here’s the tricky part. A lot of people will say you have to do this, you have to do that…… boil it here.. boil it there… I use Stay-Flo liquid starch. Nothing more, nothing less. This is what we used in school and I still have that puppet head. So it’s what I went with as well.

5. Because I’m a bit slower and there are more round spots and ridges in this piece, I only put ten to twenty strips in the starch at one time. Push it under!! Get it fully saturated. Begin laying your first layer one strip at a time.

6. The first layer is really an important one. You want the paper to go into all of the grooves and dents that you want to appear in the final outcome. It sets the tone so to speak.

7. Each layer needs to fully dry before you begin the next one. This is the hardest part, IMHO. I prefer to get a project started and finished ASAP.

This pumpkin is going to have eight layers when I’m finished. This depth will be important for cutting out the top. I will add more once I’ve reached the eight layers.

These little things are kind of addicting and just lots of fun…

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This makes the cute, hip little tie on bandana scarf that everyone is wearing these days, without the cost. Don’t be dull either! Add buttons, lace, applique, patches, anything you like to jazz up this little number to reflect your inner child.

This pattern makes enough for two bandana scarfs.

Supplies

1 : 16″ x 16″ Square Piece of Fabric
2 : 1″ x 34″ Strip of Fabric

Instructions

1. Match two corners of the 16 x 16 square to form a single triangle. Press along the fold, and use that line for cutting along the diagonal. You will have two triangles measuring 16 x 16 x 22.

2. Using a scant 1/8″, fold the edges of the fabric and press it on only the 16″ sides of each triangle. Once the first fold is pressed, fold it 1/8″ of an inch further, doubling that seam onto itself and press again.

3. I use my eye to judge this little hem, the goal is to keep it as small as possible and waste none of the fabric. I’m a tightwad to boot. Centering that seam on the machine, sew down the center of the 1/8″ pressed section. Take your time if your hand is unsteady! Be sure to backstitck at the beginning and end of your seam, as well as at the corner where the two sides meet. Lay this piece aside.

2. Fold the 1″ strips in half lengthwise, pressing along the fold to create a center seam the entire length of the strip. Open the strip, fold the left side towards the center. Align the edge of the fabric with the center seam, pressing as you go. Do the same with the right side of the fabric as well. Once you are finished pressing, you will have three creases within your fabric strip.

3. Fold the 1″ strip in half to find the center of the strip, press lightly at one side so that you’ll know where the center is. Fold the triangle in half to find the center of the raw edge you havent hemmed, press lightly to mark the center.

4. Match the centers of the two pieces of fabric. You want to sew between the edge and the first crease in the strip. This seam will be hidden by the finishing touches if you keep it between those to spots! Be sure to always backstitch at the beginning and end of your seam, this will reinforce your work.

5. Fold your strip along the creased lines. One edge is attatched to your triangle, the other will fold towards the center seam, and the final fold will come over the other side of your triangle. If you are a pinner person, you can pin this in place while you work with the rest of it. I hate pins and rarely use them.

6. Beginning at the very end of your strip, you are going to top stitch very close to the edge of the fabric, choosing a thread that blends into the fabric will hide any irregularities in your line, but its very important that you stay close to the edge and catch both folds on the inside of the strip. If you aren’t certain you can achieve this, use a zigzag stitch to farther garnish with style! That will alleviate any worries about being perfect. Be sure to back stitch at the ends of the strips very well! I prefer topstitching along the entire length, squaring off at the ends and topstitching the opposite side to finish with a square at the opposite end.

7. Once you are through, tie a small knot into the end of your strip and you’re ready to wear. Repeat all of this with the second strip and second triangle. You’ll have completed two bandana scarfs in next to no time at all.

Anytime I find a project I might like, I begin with the first post and Google to see if I see other methods or see problems others had that I might not want to face.  Sometimes, I just find loads of more ideas.

In the first article by A Little Hut, I was immediately put off by the glue gun method.  I know millions of people are adept at using one, but I’m just not.  I get covered in stringy dried glue and it seems to end up on most of the project I am working on.  So I almost always opt for Ailene’s Tacky Glue.  Other than the glue and construction I followed this tutorial to the end.  On construction, I switched direction of the strips when I began coming up the sides of my bowl.

My next bowl project will be a Rolled Newspaper Bowl based on the article at PaperGoods.Com.  However, I fully intend to nix on the starch business and just construct it on the same premise as the Magazine Bowl.  We’ll see exactly how it turns out but I can honestly say that it should turn out much the same as the one I just completed.

This was my first attempt at scones and I was completely impressed.  The following recipe I found on JoyOfBaking.Com.  It just looked so scrumptious I had to try it… and I was very very impressed with the results (see photo!).

Ingredients:

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and place rack in middle of oven.  Stack two baking sheets together and line the top baking sheet with parchment paper.  (This prevents the bottoms of the scones from over browning during baking.)
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.  Add the buttermilk to the flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix the dough.
3. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times and then pat, or roll, the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches round and about 11/2 inches thick. Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into 3 pie-shaped wedges (triangles).  Place the scones on the baking sheet.  Make an egg wash of one well-beaten egg mixed with 1 tablespoon milk and brush the tops of the scones with this mixture.
4. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.   Remove from oven and then turn your broiler on high.  Sift confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar heavily over the tops of the scones and place them under the broiler.  Broil for just a few seconds, turning the pan as necessary, until the sugar has melted and turns golden brown.  Make sure to watch the scones carefully as the sugar will burn very quickly.   Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Homemade Buttermilk : Mix 1 cup milk with one tablespoon lemon juice.

Origin: Kelly Lang (Published in Country Weekly)

1 cup chopped onions
1 1/2 lbs ground chuck
1/4 lb sausage
Garlic powder
2 tbsp. cooking oil
1 6oz. can tomato paste
1 6oz. can tomato sauce
3 1/2 cups tomato juice
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp oregano
8 oz. spaghetti
1 lb sliced mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

BROWN onion, meat, sausage, and garlic powder in oil. Drain off excess oil.

ADD remaining sauces and seasonings; simmer for 1 hour. In the meantime, cook the spaghetti.

LAYER meat sauce (thin) in bottom of a baking dish, layer noodles, sauce, then cheese. Repeat until all ingredients are used. Top with remaining cheese.

BAKE at 300 degrees for 40 minutes.

Origin: Email from Catherine

1 envelope active dry yeast
1/4 C. very warm water
1/3 C. sugar
1/4 C. butter or margarine
1 t. salt
1 C. scalding hot milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 1/2 C. sifted all-purpose four
2 T. melted butter or margarine for brushing rolls

SPRINKLE the yeast over very warm water in a large bowl Stir until yeast dissolves. Add sugar, the 1/4 cup butter or margarine and salt to hot milk and stir until the sugar dissolves and butter or margarine is melted. Cool mixture to 105 to 115 degrees F. Beat in egg.

BEAT in 4 cups of the flour, 1 cup at a time to form a soft dough. Use some of the remaining 1/2 cup of the flour to dust a pastry cloth. Knead the dough lightly for 5 minutes, working in the remaining flour. Place dough in a warm buttered bowl; turn greased side up. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

PUNCH dough down and fold dough over from 4 sides to knead lightly. Dough will be sticky, but use as little flour as possible for flouring your hands and the pastry cloth, otherwise the rolls will not be as light as they should be.

PINCH off small chunks of dough and shape into round rolls about 11 /2 to 1 3/4 inches in diameter. Place in rows, not quite touching, in a well-buttered 12 x 9- by 2-inch pan.

COVER rolls and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 30 to 40 minutes. Brush tops of rolls with melted butter or margarine.

BAKE in a 375°F. oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until nicely browned. Makes about 2 dozen rolls.

Origin: Australia

250g unsalted butter, at room temperature, chopped
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
2 / 3 cup desiccated coconut
3 cups self-raising flour
2 tblsps cocoa powder, sifted
1 / 4 cup Dark Choc Melts, melted Mini M&Ms, to decorate

BEAT butter and sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. Stir in coconut and flour to form a smooth dough.

DIVIDE dough in half. Place one half in a bowl and stir in sifted cocoa to make chocolate dough.

BEAR HEADS, roll 14 level tblsps of light dough into balls. Place, 6cm apart, onto two large oven trays lined with baking paper. Using your hands, gently push down balls to flatten slightly.

BEAR BODIES, roll 14 level tblsps of chocolate dough into balls. Place against heads and gently push down to flatten slightly.

BEAR ARMS AND LEGS. Roll 56 level tsps, from both doughs, into balls. Place against bear bodies to represent arms and legs. Roll 28 level 1/2 tsps, from both doughs, into balls. Place against bear heads to represent ears.

COOK biscuits, one tray at a time, in a moderate oven (180C) for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Cool bears on trays.

DECORATE bears, pour dark chocolate into a small snap-lock bag, squeeze into one corner, twist bag and snip tip. Attach mini M&Ms with melted chocolate to represent eyes. Pipe on chocolate nose and mouth. Put aside to set.