No Sugar Update

I lasted 1 1/2 weeks. In some respects I think I failed. In others I know I won. 

In the failing category I love dessert and after 1 1/2 weeks of no sugar was presented with an opportunity to taste the new ice cream at Cupcake Royale and could not resist. This led me to understand that a purposeful dessert is important to me. 

In the winning category I have been drinking my coffee without sugar for 2 weeks now. And loving it. I have not had any sugar laden snacks instead choosing whole grains and protein and vegetables instead. I have lost 3 pounds without even trying. I am sleeping better and have more energy throughout the day. I fell like I am more aware and conscience of what I am eating which is a huge win for someone who eats when stressed. 

Kitchen Gadget Review #1

Until this last year I called small apartments my home. Within these tiny walls was a even tinier kitchen in which I had to make the so called "magic" happen. Even I was amazed that I could churn out pounds and pounds of dog biscuits for the store in this small space or throw dinner parties for 14 guests. 

One of the most challenging aspects of small kitchens is the storage space. I love kitchen gadgets. I could hoard if space and money allowed. But something I learned from the amazing Mr Alton Brown is that there should be no "unitaskers" in the kitchen. I could not agree more. These tools are marketed so well you are sure you need them - all of them. Garlic presses, melon ballers, egg poachers, toasters, apple corers and egg slicer all designed to do one job and take up room in your kitchen for the 390 days a year you do not use them. 

One of the kitchen appliances I love is the KitchenAid Stand Mixer. I loved my orange KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer almost to death. It was taking a huge beating turning out batch after batch of dog biscuits for the store. To its rescue came the even awesomer KitchenAid Professional 600 Series Stand Mixer. I know what you are saying - how does a space challenged kitchen have room for 2 stand mixers. I love my smaller orange mixer so much and he is so handy for quick smaller jobs. And his bigger brother does all the heavy lifting for the dog biscuits. Each of them are used weekly and I think that qualifies for keeping them both. 

Now if you have a stand mixer you know that they are the so much more than a mixer. The attachements are endless and a wonderful way to add in other "appliances" without really doing so. From ice cream maker and pasta roller to meat grinder and juicer - pretty amazing. 

One of my favorite attachments is the beater blade - mine is by New Metro Design. Why didn't I think of this. Turning the mixer off to scrape down batter is tedious. This tool does the job for you. There are several makers of these types of beaters and KitchenAid actually makes their own now. 

For about $24 you have a beater blade that will let you multi task while it does an amazing job of mixing you batters. Best for thinner batters like cake and pancake types. The classis metal beater is still best for stiffer dough like cookies.  If you don't have one and make a good amount of batter type recipes in your mixer then run out and get yourself one. 

Pickle Time

This summer has had a hold on me like no Seattle summer ever has. Mostly due to our new outdoor space for gardening and entertaining. Our garden gave us much satisfaction with its meager yields. Gardening in the PNW holds it own unique challenges like slow starting summer and lack of sun. This lead to some disappointments and my biggest one was my pickling cucumber plants never grew. Pickling is one of my favorite things to do and this year I again had to pick up my cucumbers from the local farmers market. 

I find pickling so easy and fun. It is something anyone can do. And you can pickle so many vegetables - carrots, beets, cucumbers, okra and the list goes on. With these cucumbers I decided to do some spears and burger chips. 

I started by washing them then slicing them the way I want to pickle them. The spears I just cut lengthwise into slices and the burger chips I sliced on my mandolin. 

I washed and sterilized my jars ina boiling water bath. 

The smell of fresh dill is so amazing. I also picked this up at the farmers market. 

I got my water bath set up and on high. Then I made my brine. 

Pickling Brine

4 cups white vinegar
4 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup pickling & preserving salt

Bring all ingredients to a boil. 

In each jar I put:

1 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon pickling spice
1 head fresh dill

1 dried pepper (I like them spicy but this can be omitted)

Once the herbs and spices are crammed at the bottom I fill the jar with the pickle slices. I make sure to fit them in there nice.

Once all the jars are filled I fill them with hot brine and put the lids and bands on. They go into the water bath (make sure they are completely submerged) for 10 minutes. Pull them out and let them cool on the counter. Now let them sit for at least 3 months and you have amazing pickles!

Wedding Cookie Buffet

A couple months ago I was honored to plan, decorate and coordinate a special couples big day. Seemingly endless paper decorations, hand stamped tags and a beautiful cookie buffet were some of the visual highlights. The wonderful photgrapher that day was Victoria Carlson. Her photos are so intimate and warm. They blow me away. She offered to send me some photos of the work I did at the event and I am happy to share them with you. 

Dog Feathers

I am a dog nerd. I spend a lot of time with my dogs and train and compete in sports with all three of them - kinda like a soccer mom. Owning a pet supply store only fuels my dog mania. 

This weekend Mischa and Toby had an agility trial and I wanted to spruce them up for the big day. I have seen a couple of companies with pet feather extensions. Crazy! Of course and I am in! I didn't want to pay the high price of these pre made feather extensions since I expected them to chew them out pretty quickly. So I decided to make my own from the stash of feathers I had from my wedding. 

I went to Sally Beauty Supply and picked up some extension beads and a hook to pull the hair through the bead. I also needed some needle nose pliers - they have special pliers for extension beads - but since I am only putting in one it didn't make sense to pay $35 for special pliers. I picked out some feathers and held them in the shape I wanted then tied the ends together tightly with thread and tied them to secure them. 

I found a spot behind Toby's ear and threaded the hair through the bead. I then put the feather ends into the bead and pinched the whole bead flat holding it all in place in his hair. 

Isn't he cute! I picked natural feathers for Toby - he is a boy after all. 

For Mischa I picked hot purple feathers and put them on her hip so they would stick out from under her tail. So pretty. 

We had a lot of compliments at the agility trial. The great thing is it does not bother the dog and are easily removed without cutting the hair.