In 6 more, I can title the blog post “Love Potion #9.”
It’s that time of year again… This time around it’s 4 bottles of vodka and the zest of 39 lemons. There are so many more lemons on the tree. We didn’t time this very well, apparently. Or we need larger glass jars…
Teamwork: M spotted this one a while back and I knew from which side to grab it!
most recipes mix okra and tomatoes so it wasn’t easy finding an okra recipe sans tomatoes. to further complicate it, our cut okra is frozen (mama bear bought frozen just in case she couldn’t find fresh for our bhindi masala recipe).
i didn’t have any onions so really this is just an okra recipe. i used the full amount of turmeric and cayenne (m said it was a bit spicy, but not prohibitively so) but only half the salt (plus 1/8 of a teaspoon) (thank goodness! to the half salt part…)
Until we bought a wire mesh sink net, we lost many utensils to the evil, feared garbage disposal. Since I was already improving the silver, I thought I’d try to smooth out the nasty grooves in the 3 stainless steel spoons (and one Babcia spoon) that have been unusable. What did I have to lose? An already unusable spoon?
I love my Dremel. I have used it in so many inappropriate ways: cutting lumber, metal tubing, drywall, sanding large surfaces, etc. I don’t use it for the small craft projects; I like to use it for heavy duty, large projects. I’m surprised it still works with the way I have abused it.
I started with the orange Aluminum Oxide grinder (even though it has been somewhat ruined by a previously unidentified use). It took out the big, sharp dents that would have cut lips and tongues. It reallllly grinds and you could lose a lot of material to this grinder if you didn’t pay too attention.
I moved on to the Emery Impregnated Disc — this one is awesome. It made nice, smooth, flat planes and then smoothed the sharp corner edge created by the flat plane. It didn’t chew up the material but it did scuff it significantly. I was sad it didn’t have multiple sizes; the 1″ disc was just a bit too big for the tiny spoons. I tried the felt polishing pads but these really didn’t do anything.
The result is incredibly ugly. The Nambe spoon came out the best but it was the least chewed up and was probably made out of the hardest, highest quality metal. Babcia’s silver spoon looks terrible but at least now it’s usable and nothing is stopping me from melting it later if I want to. No harm done really.
I think my sanding won’t really work because now the steel has no protective cover and I think they will rust immediately. Time will tell.
p.s., I forgot to mention that I also sanded the broken chopsticks that lost their tips to the Rancilio Rocky because I was too impatient to wait for the burrs to stop grinding. Doesn’t everyone need more cellulose fiber in their diets? :)
I’m definitely on a roll. I don’t think the dessert spoons have ever looked like this, even though I couldn’t get into all the nooks and crannies (I got bored.). Babcia’s spoons cleaned up nice and I almost got all of the water stains off the Nambe. Note to self: wear gloves, this stuff stinks when it eats the tarnish, and don’t be afraid to really scrub.
i was excited about our new tortilla press. i even found a home for it in the cupboard. but my enthusiasm quickly turned into disappointment (and pain!) when the handle broke and i squashed my finger. apparently, i do not know my own strength.
the tinga tacos were still very good despite all the drama. i ate 4 tacos and 2.5 tortillas (which means i also ate a tablespoon of lard).
and maybe m will be happier…
above the fridge is virtually empty now.
the proofers and cutting boards are all reachable.
i made a cocktail station and an espresso station. the food processor and spice grinder is now reachable.
sous vide is down here. as is the rice cooker. i am less likely to hurt myself getting the cast iron. there is a variety of canning jars within reach.
lids are now matched with pots and pans. the glass baking dishes won’t fall out and hit us in the face anymore. the indian skillet is accessible, and i even found a good home for our new tortilla press.
no more jumbled lids. large skillets in a higher drawer. wok is easy to reach. room to spare.
not shown: the induction cooktop is filed with the cookie sheets. the glass snapware is in the hutch. all of the tea is in the hutch. i’ve reduced my stepladder fall chances by at least 80%.
if you ask for red chile flakes every time you order delivered pizza, you never have to actually buy red chile flakes. perhaps i’m ordering too much pizza…nah!!!
mostly veg…i doubled the chicken but i quintupled the veg. this photo is misleading as i hadn’t added the zucchini yet. it was awesome and the garlic butter is money.