Organizing Revolution: Week Two - The Kitchen!

Spice Cupboard: January 2012 (It was much, much worse in 2010)

If I never did another organizing challenge, I'm absolutely all right with that because I have accomplished the one thing I've been trying to do since I started this blog in 2010. Although I achieved some success with this space early in 2012, it wasn't finished and it has been a thorn in my side for a year.

But not anymore. Now, it is exactly how I first envisioned it.

I spent a lot of time trying to find the right solution and implemented a few but when it came to the "E" in the Org Junkie's PROCESS, the evaluation never help up. It didn't work for me. When something doesn't work, I quickly abandon it.

During a trip to Ikea, I found spice jars that would fit in my kitchen drawer (idea #4 for how to organize my spices) so I bought a 12 (what would fit in the drawer). They sat for a very, very long time as I couldn't afford to give up the drawer space. During an impromptu stop at a big box home store, I found a tiered organizer and for the $4 price tag, I thought it couldn't hurt my cause to try it. In February 2012, I finally implemented it and I like it. Unfortunately, I had more spices than jars so I had to expand the system. Unfortunately, it never happened and the small success I had in 2012 turned into another abandoned mess.

After ordering another tiered storage unit in the fall, this challenge was the push I needed.

Complete satisfaction!

I can access all the jars (and have 3 to spare) and I've inventoried what I have (I discovered duplicates and triplicates of onion powder, parsley and pepper) and will tack it to the inside door. I've used large mason jars to store bulk spices (salt, cinnamon, bouillon) and contained my cake decorating supplies in a basket. I bought a small container for storing packages (mixes, sauces) and contained the "not often used" spices in containers on the top shelf. I love, love, love the cupboard now that it's finally finished. I'm so proud of what I accomplished and think it is fabulous, maintainable, functional and so organized! I still have a few labels to make for my jars as my label maker ran out of labels!!! We ordered them two days ago and they still haven't arrived - thankfully, scotch tape and a Sharpie makes a quick label (and I won't forget what I put in what jar).

I also organized the counter below the spice cupboard (which I've also done before) but after running out of time last year, I finally finished the storage device I decided to use to wrangle my cook books. I took the advice I've seen many times (most recently this post on Bowl Full of Lemons) and kept only the cookbooks I use frequently. The binder tucked behind my cookbook storage solution houses the recipes we use frequently.

Counter - before

Counter - after

I've learned that changes, now matter how small, result in positive feelings and lead to future and continued success. I'm pleased to joining the Organizing Revolution! Congratulations to all the successes I've seen looking through the others participating.

Want to know more or want to vote for my entry? Check out the Organizing Revolution and come voting time Friday, January 11, click on #92 (that's me)!

Christmas Countdown Day 2: Have yourself an Appy Lil' Christmas!

I will apologize now for my cheesy title... I just couldn't resist!

What would Christmas be without more good food? I love appetizers and often (well, before TroubleMaker) my husband and I would often make a meal out of a bottle of red wine and a couple of appetizers... Growing up, my mom had a couple of tried and true appetizers that always made an appearance at Christmas time (or New Year's). One was a cheese log - and although I do remember liking it, it just wouldn't get eaten around here - the other was Salmon Pate. I don't recall where or when my Mom got the recipe but I loved it! It is light, tasty and a great way to get my husband and son to eat fish!

It whips together in a flash and it is actually made of stuff most of us (who cook) have on hand anyway! I've made it for Christmas, New Year's, showers (baby and wedding) and it always gets rave reviews and recipe requests. From start to finish, it only takes 20 minutes to put together and although you are supposed to chill it, it is just as good fresh out of the bowl as it is chilled.

Salmon Pate


7-3/4 oz Salmon
8 oz cream cheese
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp horse radish
1 tbsp onion, minced
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp liquid smoke

Mix all ingredients well. Chill and serve.

My awesome husband, who often does the shopping, found boneless and skinless salmon. This was the most ingenious find EVER! No longer am I (grossly) deboning and deskinning the canned salmon and then washing my hands repeatedly in lemon juice so the cat will quit following me around!

The Finished Product!



It is so good! And not fishy, in case you were wondering. I always forget just how much I love this pate until I make it and then I think "I should make this all year!" It's like lox but without the slimy fish! ;) Not that good lox is slimy, but it's super kid friendly and tastes great with crackers (Melba toast is the perfect partner) or a rice cracker but is nice with celery sticks or carrots too.

The other appetizer I tried tonight was a new one for me. I had some fresh spinach I wanted to use. We love spinach dips but I didn't have all the ingredients on hand that I need for the one I make so I got Googling! I like simple and this recipe fit the bill!

Baked Spinach Parmesan Dip from My Recipes! It was a hit! My husband loved it - TroubleMaker wasn't as convinced but he was so busy easy the Salmon Pate, that it didn't matter to me! Fish or spinach - both are good for him.

It was quick and easy to put together and I just used my fresh spinach - I just washed it and coarsely chopped it. Delicious! 

Need a few other ideas? I've got a few more that I use often for us and when I entertain and everyone always loves them! I hope you enjoy them too and can use them to spread a little cheer! Come back tomorrow for our last day and a little Christmas magic!

More yummy appetizers!

Hummus

Sun-dried Tomato & Garlic Dip

Hot Artichoke Dip

Menu Plan Monday: Meals in Review

Ahhhh. Thailand... I do believe it is highly unlikely that I'll ever travel to this beautiful island, so I must obtain the culture through ready and culinary experiments! Thankfully, with the globalization of the world, I am no longer required to have the traditional North American fare but can recreate exotic dishes from around the globe with a simple trip to a grocery store!



The special celebratory dinner I had planned was a range of dishes I had not really prepared before. I have done the typical Chinese dinner and have Teriyakied with the best of them... But blending the flavours as required by Thai food, was one I doubted.

I do not like cilantro. Moreover, cilantro makes me wheeze. Badly. I don't think it's an allergy, per se, many things make me wheeze and I'll suffer and eat anyway, however, I don't especially enjoy the taste of cilantro so I always substitute... Cilantro (come parsley) coupled with mint perplexed me.

When we moved to our house, we had a mint patch. I daresay we had a mint field as it had taken over the East flower bed. Lots of digging, some tilling, hand weeding and finally an application of herbicide seems to have killed it all... For which I was just a little sorry for but considering mint is readily available all he time, the hassle of thinning out an out of control mint patch coupled with the nauseating scent of 'skunky' mint smell, I was just as happy to buy a bunch at the store...

But I digress...

After an hour long trip to the store, TroubleMaker and I had assembled the cast of what would eventually be our delectable dinner!

A Taste of Thailand: The Menu
Thai Satay
Thai Cabbage Salad
Sesame Thai Noodles (a last minute substitution)
Thai Iced Tea
Coconut Pudding with mango and fresh coconut for dessert


The reviews work like this:
I'll tell you the selection criteria. I'll tell you what I did different from the way the recipe is written and then I'll rate three ways: ease of prep, taste and whether I'll include the recipe in my regular rotation... Simple enough, hey?

Item 1: Peanut Satay

• minimal work

• simple and easy to put together

• short cooking time

What I did different
I used a different barbecue sauce (Diana's Original). I marinated the chicken in half the sauce for four hours. I baked in my oven (we were out of propane for the barbecue) and we used the reserved sauce as "dipping sauce". Also, I did about half of the chicken in a commercially prepared President's Choice "Taste of Thailand, Sweet Thai Chili sauce. Again marinated for four hours and used extra for dipping.

Ease of Prep: 5
Taste:5
Make again: 5

Everyone loved both types although I think the general thought was the Peanut was better and less "prepared" tasting.

Item 2: Thai Cabbage Salad

• minimal work

• simple and easy to put together

• short resting time

What I did different
I used parsley instead of cilantro. I prepped the salad, tossed it and refrigerated it for about an hour or so before dinner. I added more carrots - not sure how much, just more and I also added more of the cabbage.

NOTE: Napa cabbage is a Asian cabbage that looks similar to Bok Choy but more leafy. I have a head of regular cabbage in the fridge as we purchased it by mistake (thinking that perhaps, Napa Cabbage was in reference to it being grown in the Napa Valley. Keep in mind we are Canadian and have learned to now google foreign to us ingredients)

Ease of Prep: 5
Taste:3
Make again: 2

This was an enormous hit with my mother in law. I didn't mind it, TroubleMaker tried it and declared it tasted funny (he didn't like the flavour of the dressing or the fact he got a huge hunk of red onion). My husband said it was "Ok" but he wasn't fond of it. I think it gave a very clear illustration of Thai food. It was good, mildly spicy, had an interesting flavour and amazing colour and texture.

Item 3: Sesame Thai Noodles

• minimal work

• simple and easy to put together

• short cooking time

What I did different
I added 1/2 cup shredded carrot. I omitted the shrimp paste. I used more red pepper.

Ease of Prep: 4
Taste:3
Make again: 3

Again, my mother in law loved it. TroubleMaker didn't mind it but preferred to eat the plain noodles (I cooked too many noodles) with salt, pepper and a little olive oil. My husband seemed to like them but I think he said they were 'lacking' something. I too found them a bit bland and I think I would have liked them less spicy.

Item 4: Thai Iced Tea

• minimal work

• simple and easy to put together

What I did different
I could not find the Jasmine Essence. So I used Jasmine tea. I also couldn't find anything but the Orange Pekoe but I found a bag of lemon grass and assana in a mixed box of Asian teas I had at home. I reduced the sugar and increased the lime. I also quadrupled it.

Ease of Prep: 5
Taste:2
Make again: 2

I didn't like it but drank it anyway. It tasted bitter (maybe it was the Lemongrass?) and I find too many teas don't provide much in the way of flavour and it always tastes like I'm drinking coloured water. TroubleMaker didn't like it. My husband wasn't impressed either. However, my mother in law loved it and thought it was so refreshing - she asked for the recipe. :)

Item 5: Coconut Pudding

• minimal work

• simple and easy to put together

• Wouldn't melt on the drive home

I took a box of vanilla instant pudding and made it by substituting a half cup of milk with fresh coconut milk. I used Dream Whip made in the same bowl. I toasted 1/2 cup of a blend of sweetened and unsweetened coconut.

Ease of Prep: 5
Taste:4
Make again: 2

It was a perfect 'dessert' after such a flavour unique meal. It capped the dinner well. We served the pudding with fresh coconut and sliced mango. We also had cashew cookies. TroubleMaker didn't like it but everyone else did. I wouldn't likely make this again for us, but if I was to make this type of dinner again, it is, in my opinion, a perfect finish for Thai food. It had a gentle sweetness that didn't over power and it was cleansing.



Thanks for checking out the recipe review - I hope you enjoyed it and I welcome your questions and feedback. Thanks for stopping in and look for the next review - coming to you again the day after we have the meal.

I'd like to extend a huge thank you to my (photographer) husband for capturing the amazing images of the food. I love them! Thank you! All images copyright Blackstone Images. Use only with permission.

MPM # 50

It's a holiday here in Alberta (or at least for some of us) - Easter Monday... It's a good thing too because I need to recover from yesterday! Although we only had 10 for dinner, I spent the day cooking and prepping - which I love! We had a typical dinner - turkey, potatoes, gravy, stuffing with broccoli and corn (yum) but for dessert, I tried two new recipes - Coconut Cream cheesecake pie and Chocolate Cream Cheesecake pie! Toss in the Belgian waffles and whipped cream I made for breakfast and it meant I spent 3/4 of my day in the kitchen! Although I don't need to eat that well everyday, I do enjoy spending my days creating and cooking. Now only if I had a bigger kitchen... ;)

We also were able to unearth our barbeque this week and we enjoyed a fantastic steak and Gramma's Potato Salad dinner followed the next night by BBQ hamburgers with vegetables and dip. TroubleMaker and my husband were in food heaven!

Another month is soon to wrap up so I'll be planning another monthly menu this week. I'm still working on my easier, greener method but it's taking a bit of time to get it all together. I'm hoping to be able to share it for my one year "blogiversary" so I better continue to work on it!

Here's what's cooking around our house this week...

April 25 to May 1
Monday: Hot Turkey Sandwiches with Poutine
Tuesday: Weeknight Lasagne Toss
Wednesday: Chicken, rice and vegetables
Thursday: Tuna Melts with vegetables and dip
Friday: Sweet & Sour Hamburger with fried rice
Saturday: Pizza Party! (with this crust)
Sunday: BBQ Chicken with Frog's BBQ Sauce

For more great ideas, check out the Org Junkie's Menu Plan Monday! Thank you for stopping by and we'll see you again soon.

MPM # 47

TroubleMaker's Dinosaur Cake - made with love by me, his Mom!

I’m having a difficult time recuperating from the Week of TroubleMaker’s birthday. I just can’t seem to get into my regular groove. It probably doesn’t help that spring has finally arrived in Alberta and the only place I want to be is not inside! We’ve been getting to +7 Celsius during the day and after a long and snowy winter; I’m ready to bare my arms to the sun! We were even discussing the possibility of trying to please the Sun Gods a couple of weeks ago as the sun had seemingly taken a permanent vacation from these parts.

In attempt to “Green” up my menu planning, I started looking for a digital solution that would allow me to plan a month at a time but still give me the flexibility to look at it in weekly sections. My general practice was to use this menu plan I custom created two years ago when I returned to work after my maternity leave. This allowed me to plan breakfast, lunches and dinners a week at a time and create a weekly shopping list that I could take with me to the store so that I could refer back to the menu before checking out and ensure I had everything required for the menu. It has worked great for us. When I do my month, I sit down with four or five copies and plan. This also allows me to bulk shop and hit sales and coordinate it all with our pay cheques.

The problem is that it isn’t very Earth friendly. Although I do write in pencil, I recycle the menu each week with the trash (I could erase and reuse but I need something time efficient too). This practice seems logical but I want a greener option that makes planning easier and still provides me with a menu I can stick up in the kitchen for quick and easy reference. Along with the planner is my spreadsheet of meals with needs updating often (as I try to include one to four new recipes monthly). So here is my needs assessment:

Green
Flexible
Easy
Hard copy-ready

I have looked at various ideas – chalk board, white board, magnetic board but I’ve found faults with each. Chalk dust is an issue for me (both mess and allergy wise), white boards invariable get TroubleMaker giddy with excitement and his hands black with felt and I have a very large repertoire of meals – too many to make a magnetic board with magnetic dinners feasible.

I’m not certain that one specific solution is the answer. I did find many great ‘online’ planners that I can download and use but then there is always the paper print out. Additionally, of the digital planners I tried, I felt they were not flexible enough and too difficult to edit or modify – even with my computer programme saaviness. The answer? Well, I haven’t figured that out yet but I did decide to try and custom create something that will work for me (and hopefully others) that incorporates ease of use with flexibility. No two people cook the same, nor do two people plan the same so I think it be a challenge but definitely worth the attempt!

This week, I muddled through while my husband played the 75th round of “Monster ‘gucks” with TroubleMaker. I rushed through and made a grocery list for them to take on their Shopping Adventure today.

And since I’m writing on Tuesday and not Monday (or Sunday), I can review the Monday night “new recipe” from Monday night. First, I continue to try the recipes from Kraft’s Canada as they are simple and easy. I don’t always like the fact they push their products but I do understand that’s the whole point, but my disappointment doesn’t come from that. It is actually because everything is so bland in taste and they seem to forget key points like adding a little sugar and some Worchester sauce to canned tomatoes in order to temper the acidity. So, as always, I made it as the recipe said and then add my own enhancements to make it palatable.

Just so you know I seasoned my chicken breasts with salt, pepper, basil and oregano (both sides). I also added about a ½ tsp of sugar, 1 tbsp of Worchester sauce and a good amount of the same seasonings I used to season the breasts. I ended up added about a ¼ cup of sour cream too in an attempt to control the heat of the red pepper flakes – I used red chili pepper flakes and it made it a bit too spicy for TroubleMaker. Oh, and added a diced red pepper. We also served it over spaghetti because I don’t care for rigatoni. I used fresh Parmesan, Asiago and Romano blend cheese and some marble cheese (as I was out of mozza).

April 5 to 11
Monday: Chicken Pomodoro
Tuesday: Boston Brutes
Wednesday: Bacon Cheeseburger Roll-upsThursday: Omelets
Friday: Nachos
Saturday: Enchilada Casserole
Sunday: Crock pot roast beef

How do you plan your menu - any tips, tricks or ideas? For more great ideas, check out the Org Junkie’s Menu plan Monday!

52 Week Challenge: Week 13 - A Recipe for Disaster

What a crazy week the Barefoot D house had last week... TroubleMaker turned 3 and even though we swore off birthday parties after the boy turned 2, I went out on a limb and planned not one, but two parties... The rationale being that if we split them up, it would be easier to take.
How can one refuse that face?

I was really wrong.

None the less, we had an amazing weekend celebrating our son's third and my first dance recital. However, my organizing task got pushed aside in favour of sewing on my costume, the making of dinosaur bones and being hit by a wicked cold. Did I mention the six children we entertained followed by a supper for some very excited grandparents?

This week, I'm mostly in recovery mode, however I realized that a few weeks ago, I organized - well, mostly purged, my recipe box. I've had this recipe box a good majority of my life. When I received it, I don't remember (that's a sure sign I'm getting old, right?) and it's been falling apart for the last 10 years. The recipes went from organized and indexed to stuffed in where ever there was a spot. I haven't closed the lid on it in at least a decade and there were nails, thumb tacks and $0.13 in the bottom of it.

I had numerous recipes printed off, folded and jambed in the box as well as at least one neatly written recipe on one of the many different kitchen stationary pads my Mom has used over the past six years (I always check her magazines and cookbooks for new recipes when I visit). Those were transferred to the binder I use for my Internet print-recipes and from the electronic master index I started over a year ago. The cards were neatly put back together and returned to the box.



I still can't close the lid but I know I made progress as on Wednesday night, I was able to find (for the first time in months) my fettuccine Alfredo recipe! No more trying to remember the recipe from my head - which I can do but it's far easier to read it on paper than access the deep recesses of my cluttered mind!



Eventually, I hope to do away with my recipe box all together. I intend to type all my recipes in a nice electronic document, print them and put them in page protectors and have one neatly organized and divided binder on my counter. But until that happens, at least I'll be able to easily find my husband's favourite cookie recipes!

For more inspiration and organizing tips, check out all of us participating in the 52 Week Challenge over at the Organizing Junkie's website. Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you again soon!

Back on the Wagon!

So I’m hiatus from blogging – I make it ‘official’ and BOOM, the spirit hits. Maybe it’s because I’m in better spirits today?

Over the past few weeks, I have been tackling small organizing projects in our house. The first was randomly emptying kitchen drawers on the May Long weekend. Our outdoor plans were shelved due to rain (and snow, if I recall) so as we stood around on Sunday morning discussing what we could do that day, I started to empty the drawers… First in search of a little plastic square we use to scrape out the cast-iron frying pans but it quickly evolved into a complete empty, purge and wash event!

I don’t have many drawers in my kitchen. Well, I actually have lots of drawers in my kitchen. In our condominium, I had two drawers. One for cutlery and ‘everything’ and one additional one that had to be the ‘junk drawer’ because EVERY kitchen has to have one. In our present house, I have six drawers and of course, one of them is the customary ‘junk drawer’. I have a drawer with towels, one with potholders, oh, wait – I have two junk drawers – a small junk drawer, the drawer for plastic wrap, foil and baggies, the cutlery drawer, the kitchen tool drawer (for egg slices, flippers, etc) and another junk drawer.

So as I write this, all proud to tell you I filled half a shoe box with unused and unneeded kitchen implements, I’m embarrassed to realize I’ve discovered my next project.

Every kitchen needs a junk drawer but not two. I’ll let you know how I make out with the next “snip-it” in a couple of days.

Baby steps!

I’m back at work full time and this does not leave me much time to write or to organize, but I’m going to try and do ‘snip-its’ – little organizing tasks that I can get done in an hour.

I wrote before about getting distracted and off task pretty easily. In part because it’s hard to purge, clean and organize your life. I think by nature we all hoard stuff. “Stuff” makes us feel better, “stuff:” brings us peace, gratification and sanity. Albeit short term but it provides something somewhere deep inside us and it’s difficult to look inward and realize that the 17 mixing bowls may have been purchased because you like to bake but the other half of the equation is usually found in some deeply rooted need to get self gratification of one kind or another.

And I don’t mean that in a bad way really. I know in my past, I made myself feel better by buying – it is the nature of consumerism. Without consumerism, the world doesn’t spin (or so we are told) but really, 17 mixing bowls? Now that I ‘feel better’ I realize I’d feel even better if I hadn’t spent all that money on those bowls! In all reality, there are three that get used once every couple of weeks and one that may get used monthly. The others just sit in the cupboard with more stuff stacked on top that I don’t use.

I think I need to develop a small plan of snip-its – something I can get done in ½ an hour or less (especially on weeknights). Set some small, tiny goals that I know I can manage quickly to gain the confidence and sense of accomplishment.
When I look at my kitchen (I am determined to get this room completed – I have too, I started it three weeks ago and have made no progress), there are 12 upper cabinets and nine lower cabinets (I think) and seven drawers. Let’s start with the uppers (because they are really driving me nuts).

Snip-it #1:
Cabinets 1 and 2 are over the stove:

They difficult to reach and there is the big box in the middle for the vent of the hood fan. We’ve only ever put liquor bottles, a thermos and a big bottle of vinegar in those cupboards.

Solution: Purge any open containers of liquor. Wipe down any remaining objects, wipe down cabinet. Sort and replace all items.

That is my goal for tonight after work! I’ll let you know how I made out tomorrow!