Favorite Things: Kitchen Edition

If you’re anything like me, you spend plenty of time in front of the stove cooking meals for your family or whipping up a delicious baked treat!  Today I want to recommend some of my favorite kitchen gadgets that make cooking or baking just a bit easier.

1.  Aluminum Half Sheet Pan

I used to have multiple packs of baking sheets from Wilton, Walmart, etc to make cookies, biscuits or bake chicken, etc.  They were always covered in baked on grease, they were black and grungy looking a month after I got them.  They warped so badly in the oven you could hear them popping out of shape from the other room.  Then I discovered this:

The Nordic Ware Aluminum Half Sheet Pan is heavy-duty and won’t warp.  It’s huge which means I can make more cookies at once and it doesn’t fit in the dishwasher so I’m forced to handwash it (which you should anyway to make it last longer!)  The only problem is that it’s not nonstick, so that’s where item number two comes in…

2.  Non-Stick Silicone Baking Mat

Ahhh, silpat, where have you been all my life!!!!  I seriously love this thing!  You can find these in many different colors and brands, but I just got the original Silpat brand. 

It fits my sheet pan perfectly, of course, and it’s totally heat proof.  It also rolls up for easy storage, I just put it with the aluminum foil in the drawer.  Plus, nothing sticks to it.  It makes perfectly browned cookies and biscuits, and it’s easy to wipe clean after use.  (If I’m making something other than baked goods, I just line my baking sheet with foil for easy clean up.)  And if you are a chicken wing-lover like we are, you will need this:

3. Half Sheet Pan Wire Rack

This also fits my pan perfectly so we can oven roast a bunch of chicken wings quickly and easily.  You can also use it for a multitude of other things: draining fried foods, cooling cakes and cookies, etc.  It’s great!

And since you are doing all this baking, you are going to need a reliable oven mitt to get your pan out of the oven, like this one:

4. Silicone Oven Mitt

I wouldn’t settle for any regular old silicone mitt, though, I found this one from Mastrad with the thumb on the bottom for great flexibility (I find those with the thumb on the side hard to use). Not only is it heat proof, it’s waterproof so you can stick your hand in boiling water to fish out an ear of corn if you want.  The main reason I got this is because it’s easy to clean; I was getting tired of ruining my oven mitts with grease stains and having to wash them all the time.  This one you just run under water and voila, all clean!  It has a cotton liner to keep the heat from burning your hand, and its soft. :)  Plus, it comes in lots of colors to match your kitchen!  We got green.

5.  A nonstick plastic spatula that acts like a metal one

Complicated, right?  Michael had been searching for a spatula for turning eggs that was super thin (like a metal one) but nonstick plastic so it wouldn’t scratch our egg pan.  He discovered the Matfer 12” Slotted Pelton Spatula.  It’s the ultimate for fried eggs, cookies and more! 

6.  Stainless steel juicer

My husband also has a love for whiskey sours.  And every now and then we buy citrus fruit for a recipe.  So all that lemon squeezing called for a citrus press.  I had one of those plastic ones with the screw on glass basin to catch the juice.  It was tough work and the plastic drain was always clogged with pulp and seeds.  So Michael found an alternative:  the citrus press, a handheld metal juicer made by Norpro.  We got it last week and it works flawlessly.  It’s nice and heavy so you can squeeze it without too much effort and still get all the juice out.  Best part?  No pulp! :)

 

7.  Kitchenaid Mixer

Gosh, if you don’t have one of these, you probably need one.  We received our mixer as a wedding gift, and it’s pink.  :)  Woot!  It’s a workhorse, perfect for mixing up cakes, cookies, frosting, etc.  We even use it to “knead” pizza dough for 10 minutes at a time.  Apparently it can do a ton of other things, too, but I mostly use it for baking. 

 

So, that’s just a few of my favorite kitchen gadgets.  I would add a food processor to the list, but I don’t actually have a “favorite” one of those.  We have a basic one that’s too small for making our salsa recipe all at once.  So a bigger one is definitely on the wish list! :)

Do you have any favorite kitchen items I need to know about?

Sprucing up the Deck: Part II

Remember how we spruced up the deck last week? Well, I just couldn’t stop there! :)  We were out flower shopping and of course there were so many beautiful things that I just had to make some baskets for the deck as well as the fence.  Just had to, you know how it is. ;) 

These are pink nonstop begonias (which I am in love with… I had two of these last year and they got overwatered and fell over… Mama revived one of them over the winter; it’s alive, but barely.  So this year I am going to be watching them carefully and crossing my fingers that they keep going “nonstop” all summer!) flanked by creeping jenny (another fave) and some lavender bacopa trailing plant.  In the back are pink, purple and white verbena.  And in front is the varigated plant called “livingstone daisy”.  It has a little red daisy like flower but I do not like red flowers, so if that one blooms, it’s getting pinched! :)  I just love the foliage anyway. 

On the other side, I added a little gerbera daisy for my puppy dog planter.  Isn’t he cute?

While I was at it, I needed a special doormat.  It’s a butterfly… and its teal.  A winning combination! :)

 

I’m sure it will be faded and dirty in a few months, but for $8.50 (at Michael’s) how could I resist?  Next to the door I put my little metal plant stand filled with pink and yellow superbells, snapdragons and pink begonia.

That pink gerbera is a Mother’s Day gift for a certain special mother.  Lucky for me I get to enjoy it for a few days, too! 

I also got my fence baskets finished and begonias lining the front walk, so I will be back with more updates from my Spring flower show! 

Before I go, I want to wish a Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful mothers out there, and especially to my wonderful Mama who is my happy gardening companion.  Thanks Mama, for everything you do to make my home and my life beautiful! :)

Sprucing up the Deck

Spring has sprung, the weather is divine and I want to spend all my time outside soaking up the season.  That brings us to our next project:  pressure washing the deck.  The green and brown tinge it has taken on over the fall and winter is less than appetizing when enjoying an evening meal alfresco.  So, yesterday Papa came and helped me whip it into shape.  Here is what it looked like before:

Green stuff growing on the railings and floor and a bunch of dead herb plants.  Sad.  Enter man with pressure washing machine…

We got right down to business getting rid of the scum.  A little bit of water and clorox helped loosen the gunk and then the spray just washed it all away.  Like magic. :)

And now our deck is beautiful again and ready to be enjoyed!

I bet you didn’t notice, but our patio set got an update.  Formerly green and dated, it is now black and shiny.  My mom had it powder coated as a gift for me last fall, so now we can enjoy it for many years with a durable factory finish!  I am loving the new view.  Just to spruce it up a bit, I added a couple of outdoor pillows, which are a nice touch.  :)  I had previously fixed up my herb planters with some spray paint and fresh plants and now those pots look brand new!

I hung a new bird feeder and a cute little bird house on the railing for my feathered friends to enjoy.  No squirrels allowed! 

We’ve also been doing some flower shopping.  We hosted an anniversary party for my grandparents last weekend and we created several mixed potted centerpieces.  This is one that I reworked for my table.  I love the abundance and that variegated plant on the right is my favorite!

The flower shopping continues, as I still need hanging baskets for the fence and impatiens for my front walk.  Stay tuned!

We pressure washed the lower deck, too, but it’s not ready for its big reveal yet so I’ll keep you posted.  Hope you are enjoying this beautiful Spring!

How to Remove Ivy from a Tree

When we bought this house, the backyard had a serious ivy problem.  The ivy had probably started out as a nice groundcover for the woods where nothing but weeds would grow.  It it is a lovely shade plant when tended.  Clearly this infestation was out of control!

The giant pillar of ivy in the center is a poplar tree trunk.  :)  As soon the contracts were signed, my unstoppable mother began Operation Kill Ivy on the fence.  It was basically a combination attack of pulling it, cutting it and spraying it with Roundup until victory was achieved.  But the thing I hated most about the backyard was the tree covered in ivy.  Ugly ugly!  Some people (who shall remain nameless) were concerned that killing it would only make it uglier… but I would not be deterred.  Our plan of attack was to cut the ivy at the base of the tree and hope it died.  Well, clearly that worked… it died.  It was now ugly and dead!

Eventually the dead ivy leaves fell off leaving dead ivy vines covering the tree trunk.

Fast forward through five years and one day I looked outside to find that the ivy was finally releasing the death grip on the tree trunk!  Imagine that!

Gravity was pulling it down in a huge sheet and it was literally falling away from the tree!  A few weeks later after a big storm I found the great wall of ivy laying on the ground beneath the tree.  More chunks continued to fall over the winter.  This is just a small piece:

Today there are a few vines left clinging at the top and some stubborn ones stuck to the back, but for the most part, our giant poplar is ivy-free! :)  Whoo-hoo!

I never imagined it would take five years for the ivy to fall off.  I’m not sure I imagined it ever falling off, actually!  But now I know that great improvements require great patience and that it is possible to remove ivy from a tree!

The Joy of Springtime!

It’s my favorite time of year… Spring!  Pink blossoms on cherry trees, purple creeping phlox, white azaleas, and all those tiny green sprouts are sprouting into hostas, irises and lilies all over the yard!  I’ve been spending so much time outside I haven’t had a chance to post our Spring blooms until now.  We have been raking leaves, spreading pine needles and planting shrubs.  And I finally bought and planted the ornamental cherry tree I have been wanting for years! :)  Things are shaping up around here just in time for nice weather!

Mama replanted all the hostas that the greedy voles ate up last year.  Hopefully we have eradicated the buggers and these hostas will have a nice long life here in the backyard.

It is such a thrill when the creeping jenny starts popping up everywhere!  And the purple phlox are still putting on their colorful show.

The phlox in front are joined by a periwinkle explosion. 

We got new camellias for the front bed, aren’t they lovely?  The two I planted last year in the back were damaged by the cold winter, but they still managed to bloom a few flowers.  Hopefully they will rebound for next year.

My bleeding heart is gorgeous, too… this thing is massive, but I just can’t bring myself to split it!

More pink phlox on the edge of the wall.  I love this!

And here’s a look at our beautiful green grass that we reseeded last fall.  It looks great!

My new “Kwanzan” cherry tree is in the spot where the butterfly bush used to live up by the mailbox.  I love these pink blooms!

Pretty pretty Spring!

I’ll be back with more updates from the English garden once the snowball bush gets going!  Until then you’ll find me in the hammock soaking up this delicious weather!

A Springtime wreath

Spring is only days away and I am ready to say sayonara to Winter!  To welcome my favorite season, I have whipped up a fancy new Springtime wreath for my living room.

My inspiration came from Karin Lidbeck-Brent and a bird’s nest wreath she designed in a basket:

I thought that was pretty cute and innovative, so I set out to create my own.  Since I didn’t have a cute basket and I did have a spare grapevine wreath I used that for my base.  A quick trip to Michael’s yielded a spray of pussy willow and a cute little bird.  Combined with some moss from my stash and a bird’s nest (thanks nature!) I was able to assemble the whole thing for less than $10!

Here is my version:

The tiny nest is filled with little blue eggs.  The blue bird is made from natural fibers and has a twig “feathered” tail!  I put a little branch across the bottom of the wreath so she would have somewhere to perch.

I thought the top was feeling a little empty and since I didn’t have any fun ribbon for a bow, I added this tiny banner welcoming Spring!

I accented mine with forsythia and hydrangea to complement the decor in the living room.  I think it turned out pretty cute! 

Happy Spring!

I’ll be back soon with more seasonal updates in the yard and the house! :)  Stay tuned!