Compacting Wins & Losses

Forgive me compactors, for I have purchased.

It's a long rationalization excuse, but I had a credit with a company and used it. I didn't spend any money (does that count at all?) but I did order something. And it's awesome. But, er, that doesn't matter, of course. So, I repent.

On the other end of the compacting spectrum, I got these a-mazing chairs for FREE from my mom who is redecorating. We've threatened the kids within and inch of their lives that they're not to sit on them, touch them, look at them or even think about looking at them. (We're so practical.) We'll see how long that lasts.

After rearranging all of the furniture in our combined living/dining room I feel so much happier with how the room feels - very cozy lodge-like, especially with a nice fire in the fireplace!

How to make fire starters with sawdust and wax...

Since getting our b-e-a-utiful new fireplace, we've been building many cozy fires...or trying at least. We still don't own an ax or a hatchet (note to self: get thee to Freecycle and Craigslist) so we've been chopping some wood on our property with our chainsaw. It's gotten us through some cold nights (24* below!) but it can be a real PITA to light without real kindling.

One afternoon, after chopping a bunch of wood, I looked at all of the sawdust it was leaving in our driveway, and the light bulb went on over my little former-Girl-Scout head: fire starters!

Here's how to make them.

Ingredients & Tools:

Sawdust - You can get it from chopping your own wood, calling a local woodworker or checking with a lumber yard. How much you need depends on how many fire starters you want to make. I used a few cups of shavings to make 18 fire starters.

Wax - I used some old candles we found when cleaning out a storage unit. They had melted a bit, then rehardened and were dirty, so not anything I'd use as actual candles. You can usually find wax / old candles at Goodwill. I used about 7 candles that were 8 inches long.

Double boiler - For melting the wax, I used a regular pot and sat an old metal bowl on top in which to melt the wax.

Egg carton - Mine was an 18 egg carton. Cut the top off; you'll just need the bottom that holds the eggs.

Sharp knife - For cutting the cups apart after they harden.


Instructions:

1. Bring water to a boil in your pot. Sit your bowl or double-boiler over it and put the candles inside. Boil until the wax melts. Don't worry about the wicks; they'll be helpful to the fire-starting process.

2. When the wax has fully melted, start spooning in the wood shavings. Mix well. You don't want it to be too runny, but wet enough to hold all the shavings together. It's not an exact science, so don't be too concerned here.

3. Spoon into the egg carton and pack down gently, then place the tray in the freezer until hardened.

4. Remove the tray from the freezer and break or cut apart with a sharp knife.

5. Wrap each piece in newspaper, starting at the corner. Twist ends to close.

You're done!

When you go to start your fire, light both ends and let it burn towards the center. The center will burn for a good 20 minutes, which is perfect to get your fire going.

Meatless Monday: Soup in a biscuit bowl!

This is a fun one for the kids, but I have to admit that I kinda liked it too. I rarely buy canned biscuits - once a year or less - because I think they're a little spendy, but our store had a great sale and I had a coupon and...yada, yada, yada...I have three cans in my fridge now. When you can get them for $0.50 I think it's worth it!

I rolled out each biscuit to about 1/4 inch thick, flipped my muffin pan over (grease well!) and shaped the dough around each cup. There were only 8 biscuits in a can and my muffin pan holds 12, so I was tried to arrange them as best I could so that they wouldn't touch too much. I baked them until brown and the bread bowls slid right off. Fill with soup and serve!

You can find my recipe for corn chowder here. We did a traditional potato soup with these. I bet it would be good with this lentil soup too though!

This post is my submission to Midnight Maniac Meatless Mondays. Be sure to stop by for a myriad of delicious vegetarian recipes!

Valentines on the Compact

I hate spending money on mass-produced Valentines that I know will be thrown away a few days later. It's a waste of money and resources and, until my kids start claiming that I'm ruining their lives by making them give homemade Valentines, I refuse to buy them. This year, since we're compacting, it was much easier to go homemade without having that tinge of guilt that I might be making the kids the target of DIY ridicule from their tiny peers.

It was surprisingly easy to come up with some sweet little Valentines without purchasing anything newly manufactured. We have enough ribbon and construction paper in our house to last for generations and I found some fun Valentine-themed wrapping paper at Goodwill. The kids wanted to give candy, which was a great opportunity to get rid of the eight thousand Dum Dums we still have from Halloween.

I cut hearts out of construction and wrapping paper, taped them together, then made small holes with my rivet tool for scrapbooking and tied a Dum Dum on each one. I'm personally a fan of much more muted colors, but these are fun and cheery and the kids love them.

I'm sure by next year the kids will want something horrendous like Hannah Montana or Justin "Beaver" as they call him. Or maybe we'll have to declare every February "Buy Nothing Month" so I can escape the commercialism. Do you think they'd catch on?

Meatless Monday: Corn Chowder With Leeks

Corn chowder is something that has never been on my radar. I like corn, but I've never really considered making an entire soup based on it. That is, until last week I saw this recipe posted and realized that I could use up a bunch of veggies in my fridge and cans in my cupboard. As usual, I adjusted the recipe a bit to suit what I had on hand. Here's what I ended up using:

Corn Chowder

1 Tablespoon butter
2 large leeks, diced
2 cans corn
2 cups chicken broth (you could use veggie broth)
1-1/2 cups (12 fluid-ounce can) evaporated milk  (NOT condensed sweetened milk!)
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh chives

In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute leeks in the butter until they become soft, but not brown. Drain one can of corn and add to the leeks. Add the chicken or veggie broth and cook for 15 minutes, or until the corn is tender.

Remove from pan and blend (in batches if necessary) in a blender until smooth-ish. Return to the pot and add bell pepper, evaporated milk and the rest of the corn (drained). Simmer for another 10 - 15 minutes, or until peppers are soft. Add salt and pepper to taste, top with chives.


Two of my three kids gobbled it up - one even had seconds - while the third one actually spat it back into his bowl...he's a little melodramatic though. Mr. Greenhab exclaimed "This is phenomenal!" So I consider it a success. It will definitely be added into the regular rotation!

{Check out this and more great Meatless Monday recipes at Midnight Maniac.}

Meatless Monday: Cauliflower Soup

I've found that I'm slightly rebellious and haphazard when it comes to following recipes, so I wasn't sure if I should post the "real" recipe for this Cauliflower Soup, or the one I actually ended up using. I'm going with the latter, but you can find the real/full version of this Mario Batali recipe here. I'm sure it's delicious...you know, since he's a professional chef and all. I, on the other hand, am a last-minute chef and found that I didn't have all of the ingredients listed in his recipe, so I patched it up and called it dinner. And it was good. Really good.

Cauliflower Soup

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium head of cauliflower
4 small cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup basic tomato sauce
4 cups vegetable stock
6 ounces mezzi rigatoni
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Chop the cauliflower into bite-sized florets. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and add the cauliflower and salt. Stir frequently until just beginning to become tender and lightly browned.

Add garlic, tomato sauce and chicken stock and water, if needed, to bring the level of liquid to cover the cauliflower. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered until the cauliflower is very tender, about 25 minutes.

Add more water to bring the liquid back to its original level, season to taste with Salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Add the rigatoni and cook at a low boil for the exact time the package instructions call for.

At exactly the time indicated on the package instructions, the soup will be ready. The soup should be thick and relatively emulsified from the starch of the pasta boiling together with the broth. Check the seasoning. Serve the soup hot with freshly ground black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

I ended up using several cups more of water and adding a little chicken bullion (you could add veggie) for flavor, but I think it was because of the pasta that I used, which was not the one called for in the recipe. I forgot to take a photo because I was so eager to eat this and only remembered when I was putting the leftovers away. You can see from the photo that we could have still used a little more broth for the leftovers. They were delicious all week nonetheless.


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