Summer Chow

Summer food is the most glorious thing - especially if you try to prepare things "seasonally" as the garden matures. It's been a while since we've posted recipes here at Mighty Distractible and, as it turns out, both Cassandra and I had the same idea for our posts this week! Maybe we really have started sharing a brain.


So, consider the next few posts our homage to summer cooking. Whether you prefer cold salads or stuff hot off the grill, we'll have something to entice you and, hopefully, recipes you'll add to your collection.


Because we live in Wisconsin, a lot of the older homes (mine is 104 years old) don't have air conditioning. I heard that audible gasp... I have a large window unit that I ran for exactly four days last year. I also have ceiling fans and my house is cooled by the large shade trees in the front yard. However, the house is still too warm to eat like it's winter time. I'm rarely looking for heavy comfort foods in the summer so I have my collection of warm-weather recipes that I can whip up quickly and have in the refrigerator for snacking at a moment's notice.

Here are a few that I hope you'll enjoy.

Orzo Salad
(stolen from my dear friend, Johanna)
 

1 lb of orzo
1/4 C chopped green onion
1/4 C chopped kalamata olives
1/4 C quartered cherry tomatoes
 A handful of pine nuts
1/2 C chopped fresh spinach
1/4 C Feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 C olive oil
crushed garlic (1-2 cloves
Salt
Lemon juice (optional)

This makes a BIG batch that's perfect for a picnic, a potluck, or to keep in the fridge for the week.

While the orzo is cooking (follow package direction and don't cook it past al dente), crush the garlic and put it in the olive oil to soak. Prepare all the vegetables and set aside. When the orzo is done cooking, drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Put the orzo in a bowl and mix in all the vegetables, pine nuts, and cheese. Reserving the olive oil, strain the garlic out of it (now you have garlic-flavored olive oil). Mix in the olive oil and a little salt (the olives and feta are both salty so you shouldn't need much). Add a squeeze of lemon juice to brighten the flavors up a bit. Done!

This salad gets better the longer it sits. Make it early in the day and put it in the fridge for dinner. The flavors will mix and the salad will take on a whole new dimension. Also, be creative with the quantities. If you like more of a particular vegetable, put more in! This is an easily adjustable recipe depending on your tastes.

Beet Salad
(adapted from a local restaurant item - hopefully they won't sue)

This recipe is written for a single serving. Multiply it as necessary.

2 medium-size roasted beets (you can use pickled beets for a different flavor)
1 big handful of arugula
1/8 C coarsely chopped walnuts
1/8 C crumbled blue cheese (gorgonzola is good too)
1 small handful of dried cranberries
Balsamic vinaigrette

Dice the beets into bite-sized pieces. Mix all the ingredients and dress with the vinaigrette. That's it.... Great combo of flavors.

My Ex-Mother-in-Law's Perfect Potato Salad
(Thanks Joan!)

This is written for a small batch of salad.

One of the secret ingredients

3 lbs of red potatoes (Joan used some other kind - I don't remember - but I like the reds)
1 medium sweet onion (preferably Vidalia), chopped
1/2 C sweet pickle relish
Mayonnaise
A touch of Miracle Whip
Salt

Peel and quarter the potatoes. Cook in boiling water until a fork easily goes through a large piece of potato. DO NOT OVERCOOK or you'll end up with mashed potatoes. :)  Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot. Mix in the chopped onion and the sweet pickle-relish - coating the potatoes as much as possible. Leave the potatoes alone until they cool to room temperature (about an hour). You can stir them a couple of times to help the cooling along.

Once the potatoes are room temperature, add your mayonnaise and Miracle Whip. This is where it gets dicey... I've never measured the amount. I like my potato salad really creamy so, if I had to guess, I'd say I add about 3/4 C of mayonnaise and about 1/4 C Miracle Whip. That's the ratio you want - 3 parts mayo to 1 part Miracle Whip. You'll have to play with it though and decide how much you like...  Add salt to taste.

Optional - add some diced hard-boiled egg. I don't care for it but some folks like the added texture.

Orange Blossom Lemonade
(idea stolen from a local restaurant - hopefully they won't sue)

So, this is a bit of a cheat. I don't have a juicer and am not willing to make lemonade from scratch. If you are, go for it. If not, you can do it my lazy way.

1 can of good frozen lemonade - without pulp. I like Cascadian Farms Organic.
1 T orange blossom water (can be found at stores that have a good selection of ethnic foods - used a lot in Middle Eastern cooking)

Prepare lemonade as directed. Should make two quarts. Add orange blossom water - adjust (add more) if necessary to achieve a nice balance of lemon and orange. Serve over ice.

ENJOY! - Alex

Friday Find: Making Father's Day

I stumbled on this post on Pinterest a while back. I'm not sure why it came up - Father's Day was still a ways off, but maybe people don't procrastinate like I do and they were actually thinking about this months ago.

Anyway... I loved the idea of handmade gifts that are appropriate for men and, once I got into the content a bit, I found that the real gem was in the all the links to all the different craft blogs. WOW! There are some amazing resources on the interwebz.

So, thank you everythingetsy.com for creating this great list of fun, easy things to make your dad (or your kid's dad) and for introducing us to so many great, creative sites.

Enjoy!

- Alex

Pinwheel Quilt Blocks

Sewing quilting blocks on the bias (diagonally across a piece of fabric) can be REALLY frustrating. Let me fill you in on why...

The nature of a bias seam on woven material, such as quilter's cotton, is way more elastic than when you are sewing with the direction of the weave. That bias can be a great thing when you are easing a curve in a wearable garment, but when you want exact quilt blocks with straight seams...well, that takes some finesse.

For the quilt I am making, I wanted to add some blocks with angles. After experimenting with a few slightly complex designs, and getting mixed results, this newbie opted for to go simple. Discovering that I needed to master my skill level with the bias and go on from there.

After doing some digging around in books and online, I decided that my solution was a pinwheel block. It's cute, colorful, and great for beginners.

Some of my finished 8"x8" pinwheels.

This is how I did it:

For an 8" block, cut two 4-7/8" squares of 2 different fabrics.

Take one of each of those squares and place them right sides together with the light fabric on top:

Using a water-soluble marker and a ruler, mark the diagonal from point to point. Place pins on either side to hold in place:

At your sewing machine, using a straight stitch and a presser foot with a 1/4" seam allowance, stitch on each side of your drawn line. (Note the placement of pins.):

At you cutting mat, slice through both layers on your drawn line:

With a hot iron, press open with the seam allowance toward the darker fabric side:

Back at your cutting table, make sure that your block is square and nip off the two little "dog ears" of seam allowance sticking out:

Do this same process until you have four 2-color blocks. Lay them out in the pinwheel pattern that you prefer:

Take the block in the upper right hand corner and turn it over top of the block on its right. At the sewing machine, using 1/4" seam allowance, stitch the seam indicated in photo below:

At the ironing board, press the seam allowance toward the darker fabric. Bring the block back and put in it's spot in your design:

 Repeat the same process for the bottom two blocks. Then you will have 2 strips:

Flip the top strip down over the bottom strip and sew a 1/4" seam indicated on the photo below:

Press open with a hot iron....viola...a pinwheel block!

The success of a block such as this means the center points of the pinwheel all come together. If you are of a little bit off on the points, it could be your cutting, seam allowance, or maybe your fabric is slipping around a little bit when you sew. Don't be afraid to rip a few seams out, press and resew. No one is looking! :)

Good luck!

–Cassandra

P.S. -For more quilty fun, check out my log cabin block tutorial.

Friday Finds: Williams-Sonoma Agrarian

Those who have spent any time in my kitchen know that I love Williams-Sonoma. I know, I know. It flies in the face of the simple gal I am trying to be. But now they even have something else that is getting me giddy with excitement, an agrarian line of goods. I'm only human!

Beekeeping supplies are so pretty.

These products totally speak to the "gentle(wo)man farmer" in me. Beekeeping, cheese making, sour kraut fermenting, all sorts of planting supplies, and much more. All pretentiously beautiful.

You can buy tools that look like they are 100 years old already!

I'm not sure I like the work involved with raising chickens, but I think I like the look of them prancing around my yard. Yeah, I'm showing my true colors here.

If I had this, I could look out the window and say "hello ladies". Then make the kids scrape the poop.

In their usual way, they also have a lot of hands-on information included on their site. I was especially impressed with their pdf downloadable "Plant-A-Grams" that help raised bed farmers plan their 4-foot square raised beds. (they also sell you everything you need to make that happen, including the plants) The good folks over there sure know how to get you to stick on their site with relevant content.

Go out and take a peek, maybe dream a little.

–Cassandra

Summer Blockbuster Movie List

Last week, Cassandra provided you with her Summer Reading List. What she didn't tell you is that she "reads" through her ears... It's really her summer listening list because her hands always have some kind of work in them (knitting, quilting, etc) so she can't turn actual pages. Her audio book consumption impresses and inspires me and I am going to make an effort to move from page to headset. I love being able to multi-task but I haven't mastered this version of it quite yet. I'm prone to mind-wandering when I listen to books.

I do read in the summer but usually in a prone position on the patio with numerous impromptu naps interrupting the actual reading portion of the activity. However, what I REALLY love is Summer Blockbuster Movies.

What is better than going to a lovely air conditioned movie theater during the heat of the day and watching a completely entertaining story - preferably one that's action packed and has some eye-candy in it - with a big, cold Coca-Cola and a bucket of popcorn at your side? Nothing that I can think of really...

So, to that end, I provide you with my Summer Blockbuster Movie List. For those who may be new to the Mighty Distractible party, it will become immediately evident that I'm a giant geek and have no qualms about letting that freak flag fly. I guess what I'm saying is that many of these movies definitely have a "theme" that may not be to anyone's taste (except for a 14-year old boy, other nerds, and me.)

The Avengers

It's been out since May 4th. If you haven't seen it yet, shame on you. Probably one of the most satisfying comic book movies ever made - and available in 3D (I like the extra D) if you're into that sort of thing - this movie sports an all-star cast and Joss Whedon at the helm. It's a small slice of perfection.

Men in Black III

Okay... so it's questionable when a franchise takes a decade off. However, Josh Brolin as a young Tommy Lee Jones is worth the price of admission alone. Add Jermaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords fame as the villain and you've pretty much guaranteed that I'll spend real money to see this at the theater, regardless of my fear that Will Smith is going to ham it up so badly that he could, potentially, ruin the movie. Also available with an extra D.

Snow White and the Huntsman

I'm not sure how it always happens that multiple movies on the same subject seem to get released at the same time but it's happening again with the dueling Snow White movies. There's the Julia Roberts version which looks pretty Disney-fied and kind of lame and the Charlize Theron version that looks dark and evil and really, really good. I'll be going to see the Charlize Theron version (obviously). Bonus points for having hunk-of-the-month eye-candy Chris Hemsworth (Thor, The Avengers, Cabin In The Woods, and about 80 other movies this year) as the Huntsman and Ian McShane (old-school eye-candy and now just awesome actor) as Caesar.

Prometheus

Ridley Scott's new outerspace sci-fi epic. Starring the triple-threat eye-candy of Michael Fassbender, Idris Elba, and Charlize Theron (something for EVERYONE!) "A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race." Yeah... that. Also available with an extra D.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Don't judge me. Also available with an extra D.

The Amazing Spiderman & The Dark Knight Rises

Comic book movies ARE summer blockbuster movies. In a perfect world, these will show as a double feature at the drive-in at some point. I'm not completely convinced that either is going to be particularly good but I'll go see them because, well, they're comic book movies. Spiderman has an extra D and Dark Knight will be in IMAX (without an extra D)

Total Recall

Yeah. I'm not really sure WHY this movie is being remade already but the cast is pretty great - Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, Kate Beckinsale, and John Cho - and I guess that, with new effects technology, it could be a better movie than before. No extra D's though... which I think is kind of odd since this type of movie seems ripe for it.

The Campaign

Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, and Jason Sudeikis in a political comedy? Yes, please!

The Odd Life of Timothy Green

I saw the trailer for this on IMDB the other day and I'm kind of looking forward to it. It seems sappy and sort of lame but, by the time this comes out, I'll be "action movied" out. Might was well end the summer on a sweet note. Let's hope it doesn't totally suck.

So, that's what I'll be watching this summer. How about you? Are you a Summer Movie Blockbuster kind of person or would you rather be outside on a sunny 85 degree (F) day? (If that was C, we'd be dead and movies wouldn't be an option.)

- Alex

Dark Shadows

I have lots of crafty stuff I could write about today. Quilts, a new sweater on the needles, some embroidery I am fixing to start. But I really want to talk about Dark Shadows.

No, I don't mean the movie with Johnny Depp. I haven't seen that yet. Oh sure, at some point I will but I'm sort of disappointed in the way Tim Burton made it into a 70's spoof. I thought this subject matter was ripe for something spooky and ethereal like Sleepy Hollow and that's why I'm bummed about the fact it's a comedy. But I digress...

The cast of the original Dark Shadows.

The Dark Shadows I love is the Gothic soap opera that aired from 1966 to 1971. By some stroke of luck, the original tapes of the show were not destroyed (or taped over) as was the custom for that sort of program back in the day. All of the episodes are available on DVD, including the pilot where the main protagonist (Victoria Winters) first comes to town.

Victoria on the train from New York to Collinsport, Maine.

The story is set in a fishing village in Maine called Collinsport. The biggest business in town is a fish cannery owned by the Collins family (yes the town was named after them 200 years ago) and they sort of run the show in Collinsport. Thus, due to class envy, everyone in the town hates the family who lives in the spooky house on the hill.

Victoria gets into town and is advised to "stay away from that house" by the locals.

And a spooky house it is. There are ghosts, vampires, con-men, time travelers, etc. in residence at one point or another. The house and the host of (mostly) supernatural crazy is really the star of the show. All of the madness is sort of seen through the eyes of Victoria Winters. She is a governess (of mysterious parentage) who is brought in from out of town to tutor the youngest member of the family in the big house. We sort of see the goings-on through her eyes. She helps bring perspective to the odd story lines.

The breakout star of this series is the character Barnabas Collins. He is a 150 year old vampire (and actual Collins) who passes himself off to the rest of the family as a cousin back from England. He has a fancy walking stick and a family resemblance so they welcome him to the estate with open arms.

I'm Barnabas, your cousin from abroad.

The whole show is great fun. So many of the characters are likable. Even though the show is dated by way of fashion, the story lines are still intriguing. I think I gravitate to this show for some of the same reasons I do to the movie Rosemary's Baby.

This show has quite a cult following. I even belong to a chat group about Dark Shadows on Ravelry.

I am fortunate enough to have this DVD series available here in our library system. But I know it is also available on Netflix rental (there are some episodes on Netflix instant streaming but they do not start at the beginning). I encourage you to give it a look. Start with The Dark Shadows: The Beginning, Volume 1, Disk 1 though so you can watch them from way back to the pilot. This show is a serial so if you miss the beginning you don't get all the back story. If you want to skip right to the episodes that stream on Netflix, get caught up with this recap first:

My geek is really showing today, isn't it?

–Cassandra

Friday Finds: Gorgeous Things

This week on Friday Finds, I bring you my worst-kept secret - FAB.com, the site where I've spent more of my "disposable" income than is healthy.

The site is a weird mash-up of Living Social/Groupon, Amazon, and Etsy. The way it works is this - a company or artist or designer (someone with a beautifully designed product) offers a limited range of products at a discount for a limited time. Each day, you can go to FAB to see the featured products for the day (in various product categories) as well as get a "last look" at items that are about to age out. Since there are only a limited number of each item, sometimes the coolest things sell out before the sale is finished. That's a huge bummer - but I fix it by going out to the designer/artist/company's website to buy the product directly - and at full price.

I think I'm their favorite customer.

The key to FAB is that everything is gorgeous. Whether you're buying a spatula or a piece of furniture or (I swear to god) a vibrator, the DESIGN of the object has to be exceptional. That's their brand and their mission - to bring beautiful design at discount prices to the masses. I tend to buy in the $50 or under category but you can, easily, spend thousands of dollars on a handmade sofa or a gorgeous piece of art. FAB has become my "spontaneous gift" source since, nearly every day, I find amazing things that my friends and family would love - so I buy it and gift it for no reason. I love doing that.

So... here are a few of the items I've purchased from FAB recently.

We should all shop in style

A necklace for me

I'm wearing this bracelet today

A gift for my son's cat (my son is a DJ)

A gift for my son because, really, these are totally cool.

A gift for my son's girlfriend, the artist.

You can thank me (and curse me) later.  Enjoy!

- Alex