A Little ME Time: Skirt and Scrub

This last Saturday, while my husband was researching who to vote for state senate in the primaries. I was listening in to his research and having a little "me" creativity time. First up: Finger Knitting. I have been knitting up these vegetable scrubbers:

This is my little mini scrubber and it has already been put to great use scrubbing carrots this morning! I have larger sizes for the dishes and such but this one was just finished so I thought a celebratory picture was in order. If you have not learned the art of finger knitting here is a good video tutorial. This shows just the single strand knitting which is what I used for this idea. This video also inspired the scrubber concept. I will post a tutorial soon once I get the steps more simplified.

I also had the chance to re-fashion a skirt to fit me! Lets just say I am not a size four, but I could not pass up the deal of this skirt and a vintage store. One dollar?!!? yeah we can do something with this...

So here is the skirt before. Super cute but WAY too small (sorry the pics are not so great...night sewing...what are you gonna do).

Here is the skirt after. Not as cute as before but still cute. It is very light and airy and very fun to wear. So for me it is a success. 

I hope there is some more night time sewing in my future. It is just too much fun.

~ Misguided Maiden

Salsa Sunday: Orange Mango Salsa

Its a mothers day salsa special today! This is for all the women in the world who are mothers, sisters, aunts, best friends, a kind stranger, mentor and so much more. Thank you to all the women in the world who have been one of these things. These ripples of love affect many throughout the world.

(OK...its for you men too)

This salsa was inspired by two things: Sunday brunch and farmers markets.

Sunday brunch reminds some of fresh squeezed orange juice or mimosas; and an impressive spread of heavy two light foods to pile your plate with. It is usually for a large gathering of people to enjoy the many eats and to catch up with one another.

So I was reading the paper...looking over the different restaurants and their mothers day brunch menus; which lead to a visit to the farmers market later in the week where I picked up these pretty lady's...

I also had these mangoes sitting on the counter... and...well...it all basically rolled on from there!

After making this there were some optional ingredients I would recommend to enhance the salsa even more.

They are: Lime juice and diced jalapeno. Its adds a little tart to the very sweet salsa and a little spice. Sweet and spicy are a good combo.

Other than that...its simplicity is what makes this a great salsa for a Sunday brunch.

So give it a try. Its great on a chip! I bet it would be good on some fish as well. YUM!

Orange Mango Salsa

 Four Oranges washed a diced

One teaspoon of orange rind

Two Mangoes washed and diced

1/4 a bunch of cilantro washed, diced (stems and leaves)

salt to taste

***Optional items: Lime juice and/or Diced Jalapeno

                                Buen Provecho!

~ Misguided Maiden

Salsa Sunday: Grilled Pineapple Salsa

So your looking at the date and thinking..."its not Sunday?!!?" Perhaps on Sunday you were constantly checking out this blog to see the next Salsa Sunday post and thinking..."Where the heck is it!"

Sunday we had friends over for a BBQ and honestly I would rather watch this...

any day over getting a post in on time. Those boys had a blast. Of course there was lots of salsa to snack on while we all waited for the entree to finish cooking. It was a fun night. Afterwards it was off to bed for baby and then mom and dad chatting the night away with a little slow dancing under the full moon to cap off the evening. Yeah...would do that all over a blog post any day.

But I did make a Salsa on Sunday. One that I will share with you...right now. It all started earlier in the week when I picked this beauty up from the grocery store. Every time I see a pineapple I am reminded of Maui and the pineapple tour we took there.

Obviously this was not a Maui pineapple but we can still make it just as tasty. In fact we can turn it into a very wonderful salsa. All we need is one pineapple and the magic of the Grill.

Grilled pineapple is a magical thing...like unicorns or ligers (lion + tiger, bred for their skill in magic).
A sweet/tart fruit turns into a juicy sweet grilled awesomeness.

Pair that with some salsa staples and you get a little piece of heaven on a chip or your grilled meats, fishes...hey...I might even eat my hand if it was covered in this.

With a dash of salt to top it off you have a little bit of magic right in your own home. So here it is:

Grilled Pineapple Salsa

One Pineapple, sliced and grilled (or put under the broiler) to your liking then diced

1/2 a bunch of cilantro, washed a diced, stems and leaves

1/2 of a small red onion, diced

lime and salt to taste (here you want to find your perfect balance of sweet a salty)

Eat on anything or nothing. Just enjoy it!

I also made some classic guacamole and some pico de gallo con queso for appetizers and it got me thinking that I should really do some salsa prep posts here. Seriously with a little prep you can make salsa in minutes!

Something to consider in the future I guess. In the meantime...

                                    Buen Provecho!

~ Misguided Maiden

Salsa Sunday: All About Blackberries

A few weeks back my husband and I planted loads of blackberry plants. Hopefully next year we will have alot of this...

And hopefully I wont use all of it to make this fabulous (and easy) salsa!

Blackberries are a beautiful berry. I did not want to make the error of paring it with something that would not be complimentary to it. So after thinking about the salsa basic ingredients there were only three things that I knew would compliment the blackberries for this salsa. So here it is ladies and gents...

Blackberry and Avocado Salsa

One large packet of blackberries, washed a diced in halves or thirds 

one large avocado, diced

1/2 a bunch of cilantro, washed and diced. Leaves and stems.

1-1/2 juice from lime

1 tablespoon of sugar

dash of salt

So after making this salsa, I would recommend starting out by cutting the blackberries in half on in thirds. That way the berry is a bit smaller for overall ease of eating the salsa. However, it is just as good with whole berries so if you are strapped for time, just skip the cutting.

You start by adding your salt and sugar to the berries. This is to draw the natural juices from the berry, which will add to the overall flavor of the salsa and sweeten up the few tart berries you may have in the mix.

Now try really hard to not add whipped cream to this and eat it right then and there!

While those berries are sitting in sugary goodness, turn your attention to dicing up the avocado and cilantro. All I had were these mini avocados; so I used three minis instead of one large. Can you believe that there was a time when my son would only eat these avocados? We had loads of these around! Good thing we live in California!

Oh and don't forget the lime. To think...I use so much lime I really should plant a few trees.

 Then add all your ingredients to your bowl. As you can see this is a simple salsa combination we have here. We have the sweet berries, the nutty and smooth avocado and the cilantro to add some mild spice. No onion here! It would be too much of an overpowering flavor and we are looking for a complimentary salsa, not a confusing mess. I guess you could add jalapeno...but I also feel that the heavy spice would take away from this delightful combination.

Then you stir it up...see how those juices combine to make this salsa a beauty!

And seriously try not to eat this in two seconds...It was so good. Before we knew it the salsa had disappeared and I was still hungry for more!

Hopefully another salsa to add you your list. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did making and eating it!

                                   Buen Provecho!

~ Misguided Maiden

Saucy: Chile Verde Sauce

Whenever there are particular products on sale I like to bulk up. I am pretty sure you do too. You can save quite a bit of money when you buy items on sale! You can also save money when you get the chance to make particular food items from scratch! I love to make sauces from scratch. Sauces that my mother taught me, that my grandmothers taught me and that my friends and relatives have taught me. These lessons in food all have memories for me.

I grew up with my mother making green chile enchiladas for dinner on special occasions. Practically everything was made from scratch; but what I remember most was helping my mother make the Chile Verde Sauce in big batches and freezing leftovers for future meals.

From there I was able to work the sauce to my liking and make my own version of the sauce that my mom taught me and share it with my friends. Since then I have had many great experiences with different friends in the kitchen, teaching how to make the sauce and then canning or freezing large batches of it to split for future dinners or future tamale making days. In the kitchen you can learn so much about someone. Its because of sauces like these that I have made so many wonderful friends.

So I share it with you here...

Chile Verde Sauce

*This recipe will help you make about 1-3 servings or 3-4 large Ziploc bags for the freezer, or 6 large canning jars.*

Ingredients:

10-15 pounds of tomatillos (washed and husk removed)

1 Jalapeno

1 Medium Yellow Onion Cut in Half

2 Bouillon Cubes (Chicken or Vegetarian Vegetable)

Tools:

Stock Pot

Water for pot

Stove

Strainer

Blender

Bowl

Ziploc bags for freezing or storing or Canning Supplies if canning

So we start out with the tomatillo. Such a neat looking veggie if you ask me...or is it a fruit? Anyways, I always try to buy these when they are at the bargain price of 2 pounds for one dollar. Then I buy about 50+ pounds. Now you can see why it would be good to have a friend over to share the load (and the wealth).

For regular spice (mild) you want to have one jalapeno. The jalapeno does add flavor. If you need more spice add another one. boil a few if you feel like you will need to have a few on hand just in case you don't consider the sauce spicy enough.

And one onion.

Now here is where I differ from my mother recipe. My mom used broth for her flavoring; but I just use these babies for two reasons: One, the more broth the thinner the sauce and I like mine to be a bit thicker (if you need it thinner later you can always add to it), and two, these cubes pack alot of good flavor, not to mention that I was a vegetarian for many years and I had to figure out other options to make my sauces!

Then you wash and take those husks off the tomatillos like so...

Add your ingredients to your stock pot.

Fill that pot up!

Set the pot on the stove and set the temperature to high to get the water boiling.

Once that waters boiling, set it to low or medium low (depending on your stove), cover and let it cook...till you see this...

 Oh yeah...its ready...This takes about 20-30 minutes.

I realized that I forgot to take a picture of me staining out the water. so remember to do that and then add your tomatillos and other ingredients into the blender (don't forget to take the stem off the jalapeno before blending).

 

Look at that!

You may have to blend a few batches and then mix it all together in a bowl or if you have a hand blender you can mix it all up right in your stock pot! I really need to get one of those...they are great for making sauces.

Then you have this...its beautiful, fragrant, and TASTY! Try in these two items I posted about:

Green Enchiladas

Chile Verde Salsa

In future posts I will share the many items you can make with this wonderful sauce...In the meantime, try it out, tell me what you think and make some with your friends!

                                    Buen Provecho!

~Misguided Maiden

Salsa Sunday: Crazy for Cauliflower Salsa!

This one is for all you cauliflower lovers out there...

Now I will admit...I am not a huge fan of cauliflower. Don't get me wrong I can enjoy a good bit of cauliflower if the right scenario is presented to me. Such as: torture by fire, whip or death by tickling. But when I whipped this little baby up all I could say was "give me more!"

So for all of you with a sophisticated palette come join me on a little adventure.

Cauliflower Salsa

1 small head of cauliflower steamed but still firm, cooled and diced.

1 tomato, diced

1/4 a red onion diced

1/2 a bunch of cilantro, washed and diced 

12 slices of pickled jalapenos (at your preferred spiciness) diced

Salt and lime to taste

Complimentary Chip: Pita Chips, Lightly Salted

So there it is. You either love it or hate it. However, there is hope for all the haters out there. I believe my mom mentioned this recipe years ago and I had never thought to try it till now. I am glad I did though!

So get that water boiling, place you cauliflower in and...

Set your temperature to low and steam them for about 3-4 minutes. You do not want soggy vegetables. They need to still have some crunch to them but slightly cooked.

 Then strain our the water and place in the fridge to cool down. You want these babies cold. Then hide the evidence of the smell in your kitchen. You do not want your cauliflower hating husband to discover what you have done.

Once the cauliflower has cooled, chop it up like so...

Dice up your jalapenos. These really make the salsa so if you are not a spice person make sure to get the mild ones and not the hot pickled jalapenos.

Add you remaining ingredients to the mix, add salt and lime to taste and stir baby stir...

And in that stirring is where the magic happens. Sure you can eat it which a chip...but lets up the ante a little and eat it with a tasty pita chip! Now its all gone here at our home. Cauliflower lovers beware!

                   Buen Provecho!

~Misguided Maiden