Small improvements, one step at a time! Here are the updates we have made in our 1930's Kitchen.
Here are pics of the Kitchen before we purchase in 2005:
And here are the current pics. Obviously with a total of 4 drawers and 4 cabinets we are tight on space for food and storage. With creative space planning, we utilized wall space to store pots and pans, and moved the fridge to add space for a small island. The island also added space for our essentials: Kitchen Aid mixer and coffee maker which couldn't fit under our current cabinets due to height restrictions.....All in all, a few updates with paint and creatively utilizing the space we have we definitely made our kitchen more efficient until we can really afford an upgrade:)
If you are looking for a cute and super easy baby gift, here is a great idea: Receiving blanket and crib sheet set. Friends of ours just had a baby girl, who has monkeys for decoration in her room. As I was browsing at Joann's, I found this perfect matching fabric that goes with her decor.
My Mom loves to make crib sheets (and the mom's who receive the crib sheets are ever so thrilled as they are so soft and cozy). While she was in town she taught me how to make sheets. Very easy to make and they make wonderful gifts. As we are entering the baby phase of life, I have stocked up on fabric and hope to have these sets on hand:)
For the receiving blanket:
Materials: basic sewing supplies, 1 yard of lightweight cotton fabric, and 1 yard of cotton flannel.
How to: cut each yard to matching rectangles. Pin the pieces of fabric together, right sides facing. Machine-stitch the edges with 1/2 inch seam allowance, leaving a 3 inch opening. Trim off points of corners. Turn the blanket right-side out. Press the edges, then hand sew the opening closed with a slipstitch. From there I did a decorative top stitching with my machine around the parameter.
For the Crib Sheet: Materials: 2 yard 44-45"wide flannel, 2 yard 3/8" elastic
How to: Cut 8 1/2" square out of each corner. Sew (right side together) cut-out corners. For the Casing: Place right side of fabric down. Press 1/4" and then Press 5/8" to make casing for elastic. Then sew 1/8" seam allowance. Leave 3 inches open to pull elastic through (use a safety pin pinned to end of elastic to help pull through casing). Overlap elastic ends about 1" sew together. Then sew closed 3 inch opening.
Since we painted our kitchen last fall, we were lacking curtains. I was getting tired of looking at retail stores and not finding what I was looking for. So when my Mom came to visit, we went to work and off to Joann's we went. We ended up finding the perfect green and blues with a little retro flare that I was looking for. And even better it was the end of the bolt so for a total of $15 we were able to make 2 curtains and even a cover for the kitchen aid mixer.
To keep a more modern look we only added 6 inches to the width of the window for the total width of the fabric. Very Simple! Thank goodness Mom was here to demonstrate. Things are always easier when you are learning from a Pro! Thanks Mom!!! And with the little fabric left over, I decided to make a cover for the kitchen aid mixer.
My Mom is the best cook! She can whip up anything and it always turns out. So when she comes to visit, I try and learn how from her. I hope I can have at least half her talent!
This year the menu consisted of:
Grandma Hodgen's Angel Food Cake
Nana's Moons
and Mom's Famous Lasagna
Grandma Hodgen's Angel Food Cake
Here is the Recipe for the Angle Food cake. This cookbook is a special Hodgen family cookbook. The recipes were compiled by the family and as you can see in the picture, even the handwritten originals from Grandma Hodgen were scanned it. Too special!
Forming the stiff peaks with the 13 egg whites~
The finished cake, we then placed it upside down on a wine bottle overnight to set.
The finished cake. To serve, we topped with fresh strawberries and blue berries.....Delicious!
Grandma Hodgen's Angle Food Cake Recipe:
2 cup egg whites (approx 13)
1 1/3 tsp cream tartar
5 tsp water (cold)
1 1/3 c cake flour
Sift flour and measure. Then sift with 2/3 c sugar. Set aside. Sift remaining 1 1/3 c. sugar separately. Set aside. Beat egg whites until frothy. Add cream of tartar. Beat until stiff. Add water. Gradually add the 1 1/3 sugar. Fold in, beat or stir slowly. Then add flour/sugar mixture and fold in slowly. Pour into angel food cake pan. Bake 1/2 hour at 250 degrees F. Increase heat to 325 degrees F for another 1/2 hour.
As for Nana's Moon's we attempted to bake them just right....However they are tricky, as the temperature needs to be just right! No humidity, fresh eggs, and a little not so specific instructions. But a great delicious treat to have.
And the brown paper bags are a must... Silly me, I didn't take a picture of the finished product. White cream filling to create the finished moon. They did turn out delicious, but not quite like Nana's!
Nana's Moons Recipe
Filling: 1 Box conf. sugar
1/2 or more small jar marshmallow
About 3/4 cup Crisco
Milk and small splash of vanilla
Add gradually until consistency to spread. Mix with mixer until sluffy.
Moons Oven at 400 degrees F for 7 min
2 c flour (sifted)
1/2 c cocoa (Hershey's unsweetened)
1 tsp vanilla
1 c sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c milk (evaporated 1/2 with 1/2 water)
1 egg (fresh)
Sift together, dry ingrediants. Add Crisco, milk, egg, and vanilla. Mix by hand. Drop on cookie sheet with tsp. Cool on brown paper bag. No Crisco needed for cookie sheet. Makes 2 dozen moons.
Here is the recipe for the Lasagna....No pictures, but absolutely amazing:)
Mom’s Lasagna
Brown 1 ½ lb. Hamburger with 1 med diced onion.Drain off grease.
Add: ½ diced green pepper
2 cloves garlic or ¼ tsp. Garlic powder
1 – 16 oz. Can tomato sauce
2 – 6 oz. Italian tomato paste
1 can tomatoes (I use 1 pt. Stewed tomatoes)
1 sm stalk celery, diced
3 bay leaves
4 whole cloves
1 tsp. Oregano, 1 tsp. Salt, ½ tsp pepper
1 tbsp sugar
Cover and let simmer 1 hour.Remove bay leaves and cloves.Cook 1 pkg lasagna noodles and drain.Use ½ - ¾ lb. Grated Swiss cheese and ½ - ¾ lb grated mozz. Cheese.Layer noodles, sauce, cheese.Repeat.Bake covered @350 for 45 min – 1 hr.9 x 13 greased pan.Let set for 10 min. before serving.
It's amazing the motivation to clean/update your house that comes when company are visiting! My family will be visiting from Iowa next weekend, so my husband and I were hard at work this past weekend to clean, update, and organize. Our four seasons porch is probably our favorite room in the house. It's were we hang out, watch tv, play games, etc. The space is challenging as it is small, so finding the right furniture to create the max amount of seating for when guests arrive has been extremely difficult. I feel that we finally got it right.
This first picture is before we purchased the home in 2005...cute, but not quite our style..... This is one of the many times I rearranged the furniture in the porch. I can drive my husband crazy by the amount of times I try to rearrange a space. I feel that I do it only when I'm frustrated and can't find it to work just right....As you can tell with this arrangement, we only had a small love seat, and chair...but was way over-crowded with a sewing machine, ottoman, games, dvd's etc. Here is space empty....for the most part of course And here is the new furniture/arrangement. After hours of research, measuring, etc. I feel that we finally got it right. We really wanted a sofa bed to add an extra spot for guests to sleep. We decided to go for the Beddinge at Ikea....Great price, comfortable and the perfect size. It also has a box underneath for awesome storage...we have our games, dvd's, blankets, and an extra cover for the couch.... We decided to go with a comfortable ottoman with a pillow instead of a chair. We wanted something that wouldn't take up too much space and that would visually not "crowd" the space. With this low profile, you can see out the windows and also tell that it really does make the space feel a lot bigger without loosing extra seating....And it still is comfortable to sit. Plus our dog, Brady, absolutely loves his new "raised dog bed!"
Well I've finished 2 more squares! Only 4 more to go.... I am making progress and can't wait to start piecing the front together:) Hopefully next class I will be able to get the last 4 squares done:) Will keep you posted.
Sunday the 27th was my birthday. Unfortunately, I had to work a 12 hour shift, however my friends and husband made up for it before and after! Craig and Jenna hosted us over for a wonderful BBQ on Friday. It was perfect. We ended the evening with a campfire and of course wine:) But the best part was I received the Martha Stewart Cupcake recipe book from Craig and Jenna!!!! There have been sooooo many times I was at a bookstore and picked up the book, looked at it, and then put it back. :)
So on Tuesday, my lovely hubby made me homemade pizza and because I was soooo excited to use my new cupcake recipe book, I made myself birthday cupcakes.
We started the evening with chips and homemade salsa from my mom. It was a special occassion, and I absolutely LOVE my mom's salsa:) But because we have to ship it from Iowa, we try to savor it and save it for special occasions:) Jon made the pizza dough with 1/2 wheat, 1/2 white flour. The pizza sauce was awesome with honey and brown sugar added. We topped the pizza with 1/3 fresh basil from our garden, 1/3 green pepper and onion, and 1/3 cheese. It was amazing!
Isn't he the cutest:) The finished pie: And now for the best Strawberry Cupcakes. Made from scratch with fresh strawberries. Yummy! Topped with homemade whipped cream (never knew it could be so easy!)
