Our Home Away From Home: February 2013

Thursday, February 28, 2013

A SMALL ADDTION TO THE LAUNDRY ROOM

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Mine has been busy, busy, but no complains here. :)

Since we did the laundry room makeover a couple of years ago and we installed the cabinets, we haven't wanted for storage space in that room, but I always wanted to add a few baskets for just those little things that they seemed to get lost in the big cabinets.

I had this old and dirty cabinet in the garage, so I figured I could put it to good use.
First, I gave it a good cleaning and a fresh coat of paint.

Made a small burlap and lace runner, added some baskets, my jar with detergent pods, a glass vase with couple of tulips and the picture of my "favorite girl" :)

I used the baskets to store dryer sheets, lint rollers, extra oil plug ins, etc...

My husband says the little cabinet is missing some legs, so I guess he will be making some soon, but, for now, this is what I got. Why not use the things you already have in your garage or storage room, right?

Thank you all for stopping by!

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

ON THE MENU TODAY: A LITTLE BIT OF SPAIN

Even after over 30 years of living in the US, I still keep finding myself craving the foods I grew up with.
Some habits are really hard to break.

And, at least four times a week, you will find a Spanish dish at our dinner table. Our cuisine always includes a lot of fresh vegetables and salads, grilled meats and different kinds of soups and stews.

Today, on the menu, Fabada Asturiana ( white bean stew) from the North of Spain.

Through out the years, sometimes it was not easy to find the necessary ingredients and I had to change things up a bit, but nowadays, thanks to the Internet, that problem is over.

Here are the ingredients you will need for this fabulous and very tasty dish.

Start with soaking your white beans over night.

Add two smoked ham hocks.

Four small Spanish chorizos cut in three small pieces each

A yellow onion and a clove of fresh garlic chopped

Two tbs. of extra virgin olive oil. Any brand.

Pimenton de la Vera (Smoked sweet paprika) from Spain and a little bit of saffron

These items you can find online here.

You will also need a bouillon cube and two bay leaves.

illon

Put everything together in your pot, add salt and pepper and bring to a boil.

Turned heat down to low and with your lid on, cook for about an hour and a half or until your beans are soft.

When the beans are soft, I remove the ham hocks out of the pot and cut the meat in small pieces, which by the way, at this point, it just falls of the bone and I add it back into the stew.

And this is the finished product. I wish you could smell it! :)

Now, this recipe also calls for blood sausage, but I omit them because my family dislikes them very much :)

Here is the full recipe:

2 large ham hocks
14 oz large dried white beans
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 bay leaves
A few saffron threads
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
Pepper

Salt

4 small chorizos
2 Spanish blood sausages

- Soften the beans overnight in cold water.

Add chopped onion and garlic to the pan a pan containing the beans.

- Add the ham hocks and chorizos .

- Season with the bay leaf, olive oil, saffron, paprika, chicken cube salt and pepper and add just enough water to cover the ingredients.

- Bring to a boil and simmer on low heat for around 1 1/2 hours.

- Stir several times during cooking and add more water if necessary.

- Adjust the seasoning and leave to simmer until the beans are completely soft.

- Before serving, remove the meat from the pan, cut it into pieces and combine with the beans.

Enjoy!

Thank you for stopping by!

See you all soon!

Monday, February 25, 2013

OLD APPLE CRATES

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a great weekend.

Just last week I was surprised by a wonderful gift.

My daughter, Diana, came home after work with these wonderful old crates.

Her friend and co-worker, Carol, found out how much I like crafts and DIY projects and gave my daughter these old wood apple crates she has owned for over 15 years for me to use in our home.

Carol told me these apple crates traveled from Wesler's Apple Orchard in New Paris, OH, they were used by her cousin in her Art store and, Carol herself, used them in her own shop and later in her craft room.

Wasn't it sweet of her to think of me?

The best part is Carol and I have never met in person but I plan to fix that soon. :)

You want to talk about excitement!

I wouldn't have been this happy if she would of brought home a diamond necklace! LOL

You know my mind was racing thinking of all the ways I could use these fabulous crates and although I had many ideas in mind, I also turned to Pinterest for some inspiration.

I was amazed at how many boards there were with ideas on how people used old crates as part of their home decor.