Crafty husband part 2

Nathan is making this boom-box out of a suitcase that was his grandfathers. He has been working on this and thinking about this pretty much non-stop on his days off. This is what he had to say about it...

My grandfather's old 1940-1950 Turquoise Samsonite. The goal is to install everything without cutting/drilling any part of the antique luggage.

Broken-down computer speakers and sub-woofer, with scrap-leather trim.

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My grandfather's old 1940-1950 Turquoise Samsonite. The goal is to install everything without cutting/drilling any part of the antique luggage.

Click on people's faces in the photo to tag them.

Although the speakers are mounted and finished, the rest is still a work in progress. Sounds great though! The amp was extracted from the same set of computer speakers.

I used NiMh, D-cell batteries mounted in 1 1/4" PVC pipe to create my own 18V battery. The solar panel will be installed on top of the batteries to provide continuous charge in full sun. It can also run off of 120V A/C.

Click on people's faces in the photo to tag them.

Had to make a mouning box for the control knobs (volume, treble and bass). These are actually cabinet knobs that I will modify and connect to the control switch.

The box is styrofoam, coated in an antique map, then covered in clear resin.

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My grandfather's old 1940-1950 Turquoise Samsonite. The goal is to install everything without cutting/drilling any part of the antique luggage.

* I will post the finished project when its done*

Click on people's faces in the photo to tag them.

Chalk-full o' windows

I am really loving how insanely crafty Nathan is with me. I think most of the time he's the only one who actually makes the projects while I just talk about it. I was randomly telling him that we should paint a chalkboard in the kitchen. He told me he hadn't heard about chalkboard paint. So we started coming up with ideas and the next day he sends me a picture of this window that he found at the antique store on his lunch break.
My response? Perfect.
A little bit of browsing at anthropologie and we found an awesome reindeer hook to hang the chalk off of.


Three layers of chalkboard paint and 4 days of drying time- our chalkboard is finished!

Summertime falls on the house in the woods

Not vegan friendly

I recently told a friend of mine to check out my blog because she was talking about what to make for dinner. I later remembered that she's a vegan and thought she probably did not enjoy the site very much. I will also assume that she does not enjoy BACON as much as I do. I really need to stop keeping it in our house because I always have a reason to just "throw some bacon in."

Some recent dinner (and brunch) fav's ... Ran Getsu closed a few months ago and I have no idea where to go for sukiyaki anymore. So this dish was sort of a combination of Nathan saying to me "I love braised meat" while watching Diners Drive-ins and Dives and the classic sukiyaki broth (soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar).

Braised short ribs with Udon noodles

Using a dutch oven I started by browning
short ribs (seasoned with s &p) in a little veg oil
until they got brown and crusty
remove short-ribs.
Next, deglaze with sherry- about a cup and a half.
I then added
Dried shitake mushrooms
A onion thinly sliced
half bulb or so garlic
chopped ginger
about a 1/2 cup each of
mirin
sake
soy sauce
and a spoonful of sugar

I added some water, the short-ribs and a lid and baked it in the oven for 2ish hours

Right before dinner I added
cooked udon noodles
Fresh shitake mushrooms (which were not really needed)
baby bok choy
Cooked for another 15 minutes on stove.
Serve the short-ribs and veggies on top of noodles with some of the broth :)
We liked sriracha with ours too

Nathan made the ribs (above) and were UH-mazing as usual. I make shrimp mac and cheese - making new kinds of mac and cheese never seems to get old..

I started by cooking
couple cloves of garlic in
a tablespoon of bacon fat for about a minute
Then added
flour mixed with a little bit of butter
cooked for about a minute then slowly added
warm chicken broth- about 3 cups
once thickened I took it off the heat
added a splash of milk,
2-cups cheese ( we had brie, gouda and swiss)
S&P
paprika
3 cups cooked pasta
and large handful of cooked shrimp-chopped

Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 20 minutes
Top with truffle salt before eating

Nathan took the beautiful photo of the french toast (above). While there was nothing super special about it, (just the usual egg, vanilla, cinnamon, milk mixture) the bacon was awesome. Some might say "snack worthy."
I have no idea why I have never cooked bacon in the oven before....
combine
a few tablespoons of brown sugar with
a bit of cayenne pepper (about a teaspoon)
and black pepper
stir it together and rub it all over the bacon
Cook on a rack of a half sheet pan
f0r 20-30 minutes at 350

Steak on ciabatta

Pronunciation: \ˈleft-ˌō-vər\

Function: noun

1 : something that remains unused or unconsumed; especially : leftover food served at a later meal —usually used in plural

Nathan asked me to write this.... it was actually a really good dinner.
Leftovers usually sit in the fridge and get thrown out at the end of the week when you just know they cannot be good anymore. So, I have been making it kind of a challenge to actually use them and turn them into something good.
*our lens is broken on our other camera so it's the hipstamatic for now*

We had a leftover New York strip from last night cooked medium rare
I sliced ciabatta bread and topped it with
a little mayo mixed with horseradish
a blue cheese/brie
thinly sliced steak
and a lettuce/ herb mix tossed with
olive oil, lemon, salt & pepper
drizzled with
balsamic glaze on top

The leftover mac salad topped with
coleslaw was pretty good too.

I feel like I can never remember the kind of horseradish I am addicted to and that is because it doesn't have a name. Just, 'fresh ground horseradish', its super spicy and this is what it looks like. For real, try it!

Give me an apple and I'll make you pie

A lot of eating, drinking, and cooking seems to go down at the cabin. This trip we found some great places to shop in Sylva and Dillsboro for fresh and local meats, produce and beer.

1. Eric's Fish Market- fresh fish and seafood .... special of the day was apricot smoked salmon!
2. Papaos Wine Shop- for local meats/cheese with attached wine/ tapas bar. They are hoping to have the gourmet food shop stocked by next week.
3. Heinzelmannchen Brewery- beer, root beer and birch beer


Soul Infusion saw quite a bit of us during our time in NC. They had wireless internet so I could do my homework and awesome beer and food. The smoked trout dip crostini was my favorite.

Dillsboro Chocolate Factory was worth the visit. Very yum maple fudge
The brewery
Deiter sells his tasty beer to Nathan, Chris and Kris
Dillsboro Smokehouse. Good bbq, especially enjoyed the smoked turkey and hush puppies
The tiny cooking space made for some delicious food. I wish I had documented EVERYTHING I made while I was up there.
I made my usual Mac and Cheese one night....this time in a cast iron skillet.

Cook 3 Cups elbow pasta in salted water
drain
add 1 stick butter and let it melt on pasta
stir in
3 cups cheese until melted and gooey
then add
5 eggs beaten with 3 cups milk
Add Salt and Pepper

Bake 30-40 minutes until firm but not dry

mix together all the mac and cheese (gently, without breaking the pasta) and
add one more cup of milk
cover with one more cup of cheese and sea salt

Bake for 10 more minutes or until top is crusty and brown


We found beautiful heirloom tomatoes for our salads
Above are the roasted chicken leftovers from the previous night. Pulled cihcken, bacon, shallots, roasted onions, roasted garlic, sage, lots of black pepper covered in au jus.
I turned them into open-faced pulled chicken melts on grilled garlic texas toast- insanely good!
We had the freshest, biggest, sweetest, blackberries ever! I made blackberry mojitos with them and biscuits one morning.

I mixed together 2 cups bisquick ( we had run out of flour)
tablespoon melted butter
about a cup of milk
Handful of blackberries crushed
a black berry on top of each
and baked them for 12 minutes at 400 degrees

serve split open with butter and blackberry preserves

This is not our best photo but we had a really great dinner one evening that consisted of bourbon salmon (from eric seafood) Crab cakes and creamed corn, and Pyramid Apricot Wheat beer.

Creamed corn.
In a cast iron skillet cook
2 pieces bacon until the fat begins to melt
add 1 sweet onion chopped
and cook on low heat until the onions begin to sweat but are not browned
stir in 2 tablespoons butter mixed with flour for about a minute (dont let the flour burn)
Add in milk (about a cup)
Let the sauce thicken and reduce
Contiue adding more liquid until you have a sauce that is somewhere between thick and thin
Add 2 ears of corn cut off the cob
LOTs of black pepper
salt to taste
cook until corn has softened slightly

I feel I never told you the story of the ghost...

That I once knew and talked to
Of whom I'd never boast
For this was my big secret
How I'd get ahead
And never have to worry
I'd Call him instead
His answers came in actions
He never spoke a word
Or maybe I laid down the phone
before he could be heard
I somehow feel forsaken
Like he had closed the door
I guess I just stop needing him
As much as once before
But maybe he stills with me
The latch was left unhooked
He's simply waiting in the wind and rain
I simply haven't looked