miladycarol

Cooking Up Art website

I walked downtown to run some errands two days ago. I love walking
through the neighborhoods because I can watch all the little changes in
the flora and admire people’s curb appeal. I tend to alter my route a
wee bit with each trip so I can see more streets and alleys. On my
return trip, I walked down an alley where I happened upon a yard debris
recycle bin overflowing with the trimmings of a white star magnolia and
a fuchsia Camilla. I do love the smell of magnolia, so I was drawn like
a moth to flame. I often stray far afield for a chance to stick my face
in a delicious looking flower, so I wasn’t surprised to find my feet
had taken me to the bins before I knew where I was going. Once there, I
thought it was such a waste for these gorgeous flowers to wither away
in a plastic bin when I could take some home and enjoy them -- after
all, they were clearly unwanted. I began poking around for easily
carried branches and pulled several of each. I tucked them in the crook
of my arm and set off for home like the newly crowned Queen of the
Flower Fairies. As they have wilted, I’ve deadheaded them and added
fresh yellow daffodils from my own garden and continue to enjoy these
discarded beauties.

( Well, it's not Japanese flower arranging, yet I love it. )
Clearly, recycling is beautiful. *beams*

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

Cooking Up Art website

I have a few friends who have successfully worked with this Sourdough
recipe. I, inspired by them and the thought of delicious bread, delved
wholeheartedly into this science experiment.

I have followed the directions, picked a lovely wide-mouth glass jar
with a metal latch and a rubber seal, I have my spelt flour and my warm
water and I’ve diligently cared for my little project every morning. I
began this journey on March 19th and, though the batter has a slight
vinegar scent, it has not yet frothed. Granted, he suggested the
perfect room temperature would be 21-26°C and my house is comfortably
17°. I fully expected it to take the full week rather than the few
days, yet it has been almost two weeks and I’ve seen nary a bubble.
That’s 7 cups of flour I’ve fed into this experiment with nothing to
show.

Sadly, I’m thinking I need to quit until my house’s ambient temperature
is 21 degrees. This will likely be a couple months from now. It pains
me to do this, yet I can see no way to keep this jar at a warmer
temperature other than lock it in a room with the heat cranked which,
to my mind, is penny wise and pound foolish. I had stopped buying bread
for my husband thinking we were a week away from our own sourdough.
He’s been asking for bread the past few days, though, and I’m no closer
to joy with my starter than I was two weeks ago. I guess a $4 loaf is
still less expensive than the amount of money I’d be paying to my local
utility on the off chance I can rescue this experiment.

I’m open to suggestions.

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

Cooking Up Art website
( Spring Soup )
I'm so happy to walk around and watch the buds of magnolias burst into
flower and see the daffodils brighten yards. My tulips are even
budding. Spring excites me.

What's your favorite part of spring?

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

Cooking Up Art website
( My Adventures in Soil )
I must say, there is nothing quite like the thrill of working in soil.
After a while, I abandoned my shovel and just shifted the earth using
my hands. It’s amazingly satisfying. I am entranced by the smell and
texture of it, and I am in love with how enriching it will be for my
veggies.

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

Cooking Up Art website

( Every year, we host an international student... )

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

Cooking Up Art website

I bought the last two bricks needed to build my raised veggie bed last
night. Now, I merely need the soil. Meanwhile, the days have warmed
enough for me to begin hardening my little veggie sprouts on the deck.
While they were prolific when I first planted the seeds, they have been
flagging, of late. I feel they really want to be out in the yard. The
nights, though, are unpredictable, so I’ll just keep taking them in and
out.

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

I promised a friend that I'd post how I make beans from scratch. My
method doesn't seem to cause gas in myself, nor in my husband. I've
also not heard any intestinal issues from friends that have eaten of
this recipe. If you do, please let me know.

The flatulence we experience from beans is due to sugars the beans possess that stay with
the food until they reach our large intestine where they cannot be
digested. The way I process the beans seems to help nullify these
sugars in my system. If you experience problems, try messing with the
amount of sugar and baking soda or the cooking time. I haven’t the
science to defend this, it’s all trial and error experience for me.

I use this procedure for all kinds of hard beans (black, pinto, kidney,
red, etc.). I've found that split peas, mung beans and lentils soften
too quickly for a 12 hour soak. Instead, I rinse them in cold water,
then let them sit in the colander in warm water for an hour or so
before adding them to the pot and making soup.

2 cups beans
6 cups warm water
1 pinch sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Wash the beans and pick out any hulls, shells, etc., until the water runs clear.

I boil water in my electric kettle (about 3 cups), pour it into a soup
cauldron, add another 3 cups of room temperature water, then add the
beans. This sits overnight with the lid on fully.

After 12 hours or so (I usually set the beans to soak either before I make, or when I'm
cleaning up from, supper), I use a medium heat to draw the intestinally
challenging part out of the beans.

Stay with the pot. What happens is the nasty gas bubbles up in the form of a scum. I take a spoon and
begin skimming this from the top of the beans and chucking it in the
sink. Usually, this process only takes a few minutes before there is
very little bubbling at the top. Just don't leave the pot. Any time
I've been distracted and walked away, within moments, it tends to
bubble over the lid. I just stand there, spoon at the ready, lift the
lid every few moments and look. If there's scum, I eradicate it.

Once all the scum is removed, I lower the heat to simmer with the lid on for
a couple of hours. I prefer to slow cook them to make sure every last
bit of the gas is gone.

I usually strain the beans from this liquid once they are cooked, yet it depends upon how I intend to use them. If I’ve used up most of the liquid, I might just leave them in the
thickened sauce and start adding herbs and spices. If I intend to make
soup, I drain them and start with fresh water for my base.

I’d love to hear your experiences and suggestions!
Cooking Up Art website

Cooking Up Art website

I’ve been thinking about chowder. I’m not a big fan of potato chunks,
dairy products have decided I am not their bosom friend anymore in
quantities greater than tablespoons, and clams are, well, texturally,
um… interesting, at best.

So, why am I thinking about chowder since
these are all major ingredients in it? I want to find a way to make a
tasty chowder that tastes as good to me as the chowders of my youth
smelled. I am originally from Rhode Island, home of the quahog and many
interesting ways to incorporate said invertebrates into recipes. Rhode
Island had a clear broth chowder that I distinctly remember. I also
remember experiencing some seafood bouillabaisses that were served in a
trough for the whole table to share. Both of these were far more
intriguing to me than milk based chowder.

I’ve been mulling the creation of chowder I’d like for a few days now. I walked to the local
seafood market and bought some salmon trim for the protein, sautéed an
onion, garlic, thyme and other herbs, then added chopped celery, two
tomatoes and frozen corn. Yes, I’m cheating. In my defense, fresh corn
on the cob won’t be in season for many, many months. I didn’t think my
urge for chowder would wait that long. My concoction has been simmering
in the cauldron much of the afternoon and is ready to eat.

The result: After dinner, I added more lemon juice and salt and will allow it to
simmer. It’s tasty, yet it’s lacking something. Perhaps I’ll know
tomorrow when I reheat it for lunch. It’s a recipe with promise.

It’s a lovely accent to a Vietnamese soup to sprinkle a bit of fried garlic upon it. Since we both enjoy it, I keep a jar of it on the shelf above the stove. One little jar lasts forever packed in its olive oil so I maybe make it once a year. This morning was that once. I bought a crooked elbow full of garlic cloves and spent this morning shucking, washing and chopping them. I heated the pan full of olive oil and suffused everything in the house with the pungent odor of alliums. It wasn’t until after I had finished cooking the garlic and walked into the living room that my eyes really started to water. I’d been using my onion goggles while cooking and taken them off when done, so I hadn’t realized quite how thick the air had become. I’ve opened the doors and windows and lit a few candles and things should return to order shortly. Meanwhile, I have a fresh batch of fried garlic.

I spent my afternoon in the yard working on the veggie bed. I'm laying bricks where treated lumber once was. I had dug it all out two years ago, laid weed block, then run out of cash to buy the bricks and soil. I've been buying the bricks over the past year and have almost all of them. I was out there this afternoon shoring up the bricks so they lay more or less even. I'll need the soil to kind of plump up any remaining slumping ones.

Eventually, I'd love to brick in other areas of the yard and make nicer gardens there, too. I have an ornamental maple tree that I housed in a wooden barrel for 9 years. The barrel is falling apart around it and the tree has laid a tap root I'm not willing to break. I'm thinking I should just brick around the perimeter of the barrel and fill the rest in with soil. So many plans. So much dirt to move.