For a deeper dive – over 500 posts on life, mind, body & spirit
Israeli artist Ilana Yahav does amazing art visuals with music, sand and her own hands and imagination. Click below. You can link to her site here and click on different YouTube videos. (Double click to view a larger screen.)
In this time of Lent, sit back and enjoy a 5 minute retreat on line. . .
You may also like The Story of the Wolf and Lent – Into the Desert.
At the end of the week we had leftover chicken, fresh spinach, a tomato, green pepper and an odd assortment of vegetables from our CSA (community sponsored agriculture – the late winter delivery) consisting of red radishes and carrots. Basically an odd assortment of vegetables.
Here’s the salad my husband created with the ingredients. He warmed and sliced the chicken breast, sliced the tomato, red radish, carrots and pepper. then he added olives, sunflower seeds, tiny crackers and sprinkled some cracked pepper and tumeric. Everything rests on a bed of fresh spinach leaves. Delicious. And all in the fridge.
You may also like Spend Less on Groceries – Eat Better.
How would you make your kitchen more inviting, romantic?
Here’s a creative example from Apartment Therapy below. Add romance to a kitchen (does this example even need to be in the kitchen?) by displaying attractive cookware.
Start with a sofa table, dresser or hutch base combined with a colorful rug. Add a print and a plant perhaps. Hang the cookware for convenience and a little bling. Ta da!
Below the owner has even made space for pot lids. This example demonstrates a good use of vertical wall space – no cabinets required. And I love the elegant – even romantic look.
Nice!
Do you have other creative ideas to share?
The bathroom re-do with before & after pictures is coming soon – to a blog near you. Boom.
If you’ve been reading this blog then you know that six items or less is the goal – for most things in my life. I have already posted about progress simplifying my wardrobe.
Now what about our kitchen? Think about knives, utensils, glassware, pots and pans, baking dishes, etc. Do I really need more than six of anything????
When I was younger, I lived with a family in Paris. While their home was large, the kitchen was a typical, tiny French kitchen. Christine cooked delectable, many-course meals for family and guests from this tiny kitchen with one cabinet, 2 feet of counter space and a small European refrigerator. She had almost no gadgets, using two good knives and a whisk for just about everything. What did I learn? I learned French cooking and I learned that great meals are not about having a big kitchen or lots of gadgets.
Consider the components of the “kitchen-in-a-box” in the picture. Before first moving into this townhouse I had purchased a collection similar to this from Target. If I remember correctly it had about 50 pieces in total. It even had things like a paper towel holder, S&P shakers and plastic storage containers. Basically it had just what I needed – and nothing I didn’t. It worked really well.
So where did all this other stuff come from???
Looking around our kitchen we generally use the same three pans for most of our cooking: a small sauce pan, a 2 qt. soup pan, a 3 qt. pan for cooking pasta, a saute pan and a larger fry pan. I also use my blue & white soup pot. That’s it. Other pots and pans are rarely, if ever, used. So why not pass them along to someone who needs them? So we did.
Next we donated the toaster, food processor, mixer and other small electrics that we didn’t use or used rarely. We do have a hand blender, coffee grinder, coffee maker and hand mixer (which may be the next to go).
Knives & utensils are the same story. Too many that are never used. They are simply taking up space — which we don’t have. Others can use them. Three stainless cylinders on the counter by the stove hold utensils we use now. Still too many though. . .
Lastly, it would be nice to display beautiful items that we use everyday. Currently I do keep my white low bowls on my counter in an unused corner. Silverware too.
But what about awkward pots and pans? They suck cabinet space. My wish: store them in a way that is both space saving and attractive. Is it possible to achieve both??? Find out in my next post.
You may also like The Richness of Simplicity and Simplify, Simplify, Simplify.
Think lasagna is time consuming or difficult? Think again. You can make delicious lasagna without boiling the noodles. You can assemble it in minutes this morning and eat it for dinner tonight. Here’s how:
In a large Crock Pot cover the bottom with a thin layer of spaghetti sauce. Place one layer of regular, uncooked, lasagna noodles on the sauce. Usually only 2 – 3 noodles will fit. Two of them may need to be broken to fit. Cover with one third of the remaining jar of spaghetti sauce. Add a layer of chopped broccoli, 1/3 of an 8 oz pkg of shredded mozzarella cheese and small clumps of ricotta cheese (1/4 of an 8 oz. container, or substitute with cottage cheese). Repeat with another layer of lasagna noodles, sauce, broccoli and cheeses. Finish with a top layer of lasagna, the last third of the sauce and mozzarella cheese. Cook for 8 hours on low – 4 hours on high. Yields 4 large pieces.
Substitute the broccoli with spinach. Or add browned Italian sausage or ground beef. If you’re out of spagetti sauce use a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes with a 14 oz can of tomato sauce.
How about Alfredo lasagna? You can do the same recipe substituting a creamy white Alfredo sauce and add shredded carrots along with the chopped broccoli – skip the ricotta cheese. Again cook for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.
Serve with toasted garlic bread.
Buon Appetito!
You may also like “Stinkin” Cheeses and Spaetzle – German Mac & Cheese.