Let's Mourn and Make New Friends

Bacon's First Pumpkin, Mr. Pumpkin

In April I wrote about my 2008 Halloween pumpkin that had managed to remain intact for over 7 months. At the time I prophesied that Mr. Pumpkin would probably "simply dry up."

On August 1, 2009 I moved into a new apartment and while packing I discovered that Mr. Pumpkin was beginning to become mushy and I was forced to send him off to that great Halloween pumpkin patch in the sky.

RIP
Mr. Pumpkin
October 2008 - August 2009


Hello!

This Halloween I got a fancy white pumpkin! I've always wanted one, and I found this one for free on my birthday! I wonder how long he'll last?

Let's Cook Cornish Hen

Baked cornish hen.

Cornish hen are simply teenage chicken. They are small and relatively inexpensive. I bought these two for $5. Because they are small these birds are great for serving 1 or 2 people, or for serving a large number of people a great feast.



Prepare the hens by giving them a good rinse with cool water, inside and out. The hens have a large cavity. Unlike whole chicken or turkey, the hens do not have any innards stuffed inside. Dry the hens with paper towels and place on a cutting board.

Prep us like this!

Ingredients:
2 cornish hens
1 large onion, any variety, cut into many large wedges
large handful carrots plus extra for bag, I like to use baby carrots because they are already the perfect size
1 lemon - cut half into 4 slices and cut remaining half into 4 quarters (wedges)
2 ribs celery, cut to 1.5 inch lengths

salt and pepper
poultry seasoning
sesame oil

3 cups water, or chicken stock

Supplies:
sheet pan and aluminum foil, or roasting pan
baking bag, prepped according to box instructions

Liberally season the hens with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning on the inside.

Stuff the birds:
Place an onion wedge in the back of the cavity. Then stuff as many baby carrots and 3 or so pieces of celery into the cavity. Squeeze lemon quarters in when halfway full. Keep quarters for roasting bag. When stuffed, use another onion wedge to seal the end. Next, liberally coat with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Carefully, rotate and season the birds to cover entire bird.


Prep the bag:
Prep the bag for baking according to the instructions on the box. (Most baking bags require shaking flour on the inside to prevent the bag from bursting during baking. Read your bags instructions because it won't be pretty it the bag explodes in the oven. Seriously. )

If you don't have a roasting pan you can use a sheet pan and an aluminum foil "snake" to support your bag while baking. Either way, place the bag vertically in the pan and open it up. Place the remaining onion, celery, extra bit of carrot, and lemon wedges inside. Squeeze the other two pieces of lemon wedge over the vegetables. Place all squeezed wedges in the bag.

Place the birds in the bag side by side. Pour in 3 cups of water or chicken stock. Drizzle surface of hens with sesame oil. Place lemon slices on top. Press lightly to stick.

Gently twist and seal bag with. Slit the bag several times with a knife according to your bags instructions. This allows venting.

Bake in a 350F oven for about an hour.

Done!

Remove from oven and allow to rest for about 10 minutes to cool. If you want to save the juices from the bag. You should do this before opening the bag. Otherwise, to remove the hens just cut away the top of the bag.

The juices in the bag are great for adding to stock or preparing gravy. To reserve the juices, carefully transfer the pan to your sink. The pan will be hot. Place a large bowl in the sink and maneuver the pan over the bowl so that the hens are supported by the pan. Using kitchen shears or a knife pierce the bag and empty the stock into a bowl. Allow the stock to cool in the fridge, then pour into a freezer container and freeze; best within 3 months.

Each bird can easily serve two people if you slice them in half. The birds easily slice in half using a good knife. The inside of the hen holds perfectly cooked baby carrots. The meat on these hens is very tender and light.

I served them with mashed sweet potatoes and fried okra.

Let's Last Forever

I still have my Halloween pumpkin from last year.

I bought him in mid-October 2008, never carved him, rested him by my (non-working) fireplace on the cool tile floors, and he's still as fresh and firm as if I'd brought him home yesterday.


He continually reminds me of Patchy Pumpkin, but I just refer to him as Mr. Pumpkin. I'm going to keep him around indefinitely, and only throw him out should he start to rot. However, I expect he'll simply dry up in which case he'll be around forever as I'm an extremely, oddly sentimental person. Decades from now he'll probably be rested on my old lady desk.

Update: Did Mr. Pumpkin "simply dry up?" No.
On August 1, 2009 I moved into a new apartment and while packing I discovered that Mr. Pumpkin was beginning to become mushy on the bottom and I was forced to send him off to that great Halloween pumpkin patch in the sky. RIP Mr. Pumpkin: October 2008 - August 2009

Let's Transform Old License Plates

Due to an unfortunate incident causing me to feel the full brunt of the Brazil-like world we live in, I have several license plates. At least one of the plates was still current and I felt really frustrated that it would become moot following its replacement with a plate from another state.

At some point I had this idea to use my plates as desktop mail/paper files. This is a simple project that takes less than 15 minutes, makes clever use of old/irrelevant license plate(s), and will help organize your desk.

For this project you will need: a license plate, a ruler, and a permanent marker.

In general a license plate is about 12 inches wide. Using your ruler, measure across the width of the license plate at 5" and 7". This 2" space will be the base of the file. I put small marks at the top, center and bottom of my plate so that I get a nice straight edge.

Place your ruler or other sturdy edge along the inside (what will be the base of the file) of one set of marks and make sure your ruler is lined up with the marks.

A license plate is easily bended. Using your ruler as a guide, bend one side of the plate about 45 degrees. We're only going to bend halfway so that there will be room to position your hand to bend the other side.

Next place your ruler along the inside of the second set of marks and use your fingers as shown above to hold the ruler and bend the other side about 45 degrees.

Now you have a "U" shape. To finish the file work the sides to a vertical position so that you create a little file. The bottom corners will have a nice rounded shape.

To get the right shape I press down on the top of one side of the file against a hard surface and then rapidly bend the other side back and forth about 1" in both directions. This helps to work the metal into the right shape. You could also use clamps to clamp the base of the file to a desk and then work the sides into the right form.

Ta da! This little file also works well to hold CDs. Here is one of the files in use on my desk.
(Alternately, you could bend the plates in half and use them as book ends.)

Let's Plant Grass for Cats

These are my cats Eveready, Bacon, and Adoy enjoying some fresh potted grass. This grass was grown from "cat grass seed."

The grass is extremely easy to grow and "cat grass seed" can be found at any pet supply store. In general, "cat grass seed" is just "oat grass seed" so you could just buy oat grass seed. My theory is that oat grass seed is cheaper because "cat grass seed" sounds fancy and specialized. Marketing.

A good tip for planting these (very hardy) seeds is to cover the pot with plastic cling wrap or some other plastic to created a humid space for the seeds to sprout. Don't leave it on once the seeds have sprouted or they will get crushed*. Another alternative are those shower cap style food covers or an actual, CLEAR shower cap (Accept the complimentary one next time you stay in a hotel, keep it and use it to sprout seeds.)

Grass in general is a very resilient plant. Keep this cat grass watered with some regularity and it will remain green and healthy through the bulk of its lifespan. Additionally, if you have no grass-eating pets, I think that pots of fresh green grass look very fresh and clean.

*Or not. I covered my seeds with a used and resued large Ziplock-style bag and secured it with a large, elasric headband. In truth the seal wasn't very tight as the plastic was too thick to be contained by the headband. I checked the progress of the seeds after a few days and they were just sprouting. I took a look again after about 36 hours and the grass has shot up about 3 inches and pushed the plastic off the pot and sent the stretchy headband across the room. BOING!

Let's Make Loops On Sticks

I've tried in vain and have each time ended up frustrated trying to learn how to knit. It's all loops on sticks (albeit beautiful bamboo sticks) to me. Not being able to maintain even tension is a major issue.

But it hasn't dampened my adoration for beautiful knits or for those who can knit, and knit original things.

Need. This. Owl. Sweater. To. Continue. Living.

One such amazing knitted piece is this incredibly creative and adorable owl sweater by Kate of the blog Needled. It makes me want to try knitting again because there is a free pattern available for the sweater at the blog.

Let's Make Chicken Noodle Soup with Sweet Potato

Chicken Noodle Soup with Sweet Potato

I was inspired to make chicken noodle soup with sweet potato after seeing a recipe for sweet potato and chicken stew; the combination of sweet potato and rosemary sounded really good. This soup is full of fresh vegetables and the sweet potatoes delicate sweet taste goes very well with rosemary.

Chicken Noodle Soup with Sweet Potato

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut in chunks
2 ribs celery, diced
2 carrots, scrubbed, peels on and diced
1 can (13 oz) cooked chicken breast in water
1 C water
1 box (32 oz) chicken broth
1 T bacon/ham pieces (I used Hormel Real Bacon with Picnic Bacon pieces)
1 C rotini pasta
2 T olive oil
Diced garlic, to taste
1/2 t minced fresh rosemary
1 T vinegar
Onion powder, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste

Put olive oil, garlic, celery, carrot, and sweet potato in a soup pot over medium heat. Combine to coat vegetables. Cook until celery is tender, and the carrot and potato are beginning to soften. Then add bacon pieces and water; simmer.

Meanwhile add chicken with water to pot and break up large chunks of chicken. Next add rosemary, onion powder, salt and pepper. Combine ingredients, add pasta and combine again. Add broth and cook soup covered until vegetables and pasta are done then add vinegar and stir.