Happy 30th Birthday, Matthew and Thomas!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
BioShield- A Review
Some of you may have noticed the butcher block surface under much of the food I photograph.
It is the top to a movable kitchen cupboard that used to belong to my mom and that I adore, despite it's wonky drawers, missing handle and doors that don't quite stay closed. But I thought we might be able to do something about the cabinet part of it, which was getting pretty beat up. We decided on a red color to pick up the color in the curtains.
So I started searching the internet for an eco-friendly stain. I found two of them, but only the BioShield was available at a local retailer. So being the impatient person I am, I bought that. And then Jeff and I spent the next week and a half sanding.
Turns out I could have waited for delivery after all.
(beginning of the entirely ridiculous amount of sanding that Jeff and I did)
And here's my final opinion of BioShield stains. Though I'm happy with the way the project turned out, I wasn't particularly thrilled with the stain itself mainly because it isn't at all like most stains. All traditional stains that I've used involve wiping on the product, letting it sit for a few moments and then wiping it off again, which gives a nice even surface. The BioShield dried so quickly that not only would it not wipe off, but I spent the entire project trying to blend in the marks from the previous brush strokes. Some of which I was never quite able to smooth out.
I did eventually work out a somewhat passable method that involved lightly applying the stain and then working the rest of it in with the mostly empty brush, but I'm not sure how to go about describing it here. Overall it really did behave more like a super quick drying paint than a stain. And it definitely had the tendency to go on too thick, hiding all the wood grain. In fact, the directions themselves suggest adding multiple coats, something that would have completely hidden the grain.
You can see more of those lap marks on the top right of the cabinet in this picture.
I'm not sure if these drying problems were because it was a fairly warm day and, as it always is in Colorado, very low humidity. Or if it's always like that.
But overall I'm pleased with the project, despite the finicky weirdness of the stain's application.
And for some people I bet it would be perfect.
First of all, this stuff comes in a range of surprisingly bright colors. I've never seen wood stain this rainbow colored before. Secondly, if you don't care about being able to see the wood grain (something I definitely did want to be able to do), it would be easier to do multiple coats and create a really solidly colored surface without worrying about the brush strokes. The benefit of that would be that it would retain the surface texture of the wood as opposed to that of paint.
It also comes in small sizes which makes it easy to mix your own custom color. I mixed 2 of the crimsons with half of an ebony.
Finally, and most importantly, this stuff is solvent free, water based and zero VOC, all of which means that I could bring the finished piece right into our kitchen after it dried with no smelly chemicals and no worry of chronic health issues.
This entire project actually started when I decided to sand down the top of the block to remove a few year's worth of knife marks. Once I'd done that I started looking around for wood sealers, all of which, I was grumpy to find out, had mineral oil in them. Mineral oil, despite it's label as 'food safe', is still a byproduct of the petroleum industry. I won't even put mineral oil on my body; I'm not particularly keen to be using it where I chop my veges. Happily, when we were buying the wood stain, right next to it was a bottle of wood sealant with zero petroleum products. So as I stained the bottom cabinet, Jeff used the BioShield salad bowl conditioner on the butcher block top.
So this 2 week project (most of which was taken up with sanding... next time I will pay someone to sandblast the damn thing) has finally come to a close and all our cake, pie and cupcake pans are all safely tucked back into their home and off of our dining room table. And, more importantly, their home has been finished with a fun new, non-toxic finish. Though I don't know that the cake pans actually care, at least not as much as I do.
The only thing I have left to do is decide on the new drawer pulls, something which I know will take me months.
It is the top to a movable kitchen cupboard that used to belong to my mom and that I adore, despite it's wonky drawers, missing handle and doors that don't quite stay closed. But I thought we might be able to do something about the cabinet part of it, which was getting pretty beat up. We decided on a red color to pick up the color in the curtains.
So I started searching the internet for an eco-friendly stain. I found two of them, but only the BioShield was available at a local retailer. So being the impatient person I am, I bought that. And then Jeff and I spent the next week and a half sanding.
Turns out I could have waited for delivery after all.
(beginning of the entirely ridiculous amount of sanding that Jeff and I did)
And here's my final opinion of BioShield stains. Though I'm happy with the way the project turned out, I wasn't particularly thrilled with the stain itself mainly because it isn't at all like most stains. All traditional stains that I've used involve wiping on the product, letting it sit for a few moments and then wiping it off again, which gives a nice even surface. The BioShield dried so quickly that not only would it not wipe off, but I spent the entire project trying to blend in the marks from the previous brush strokes. Some of which I was never quite able to smooth out.
I did eventually work out a somewhat passable method that involved lightly applying the stain and then working the rest of it in with the mostly empty brush, but I'm not sure how to go about describing it here. Overall it really did behave more like a super quick drying paint than a stain. And it definitely had the tendency to go on too thick, hiding all the wood grain. In fact, the directions themselves suggest adding multiple coats, something that would have completely hidden the grain.
You can see more of those lap marks on the top right of the cabinet in this picture.
I'm not sure if these drying problems were because it was a fairly warm day and, as it always is in Colorado, very low humidity. Or if it's always like that.
But overall I'm pleased with the project, despite the finicky weirdness of the stain's application.
And for some people I bet it would be perfect.
First of all, this stuff comes in a range of surprisingly bright colors. I've never seen wood stain this rainbow colored before. Secondly, if you don't care about being able to see the wood grain (something I definitely did want to be able to do), it would be easier to do multiple coats and create a really solidly colored surface without worrying about the brush strokes. The benefit of that would be that it would retain the surface texture of the wood as opposed to that of paint.
It also comes in small sizes which makes it easy to mix your own custom color. I mixed 2 of the crimsons with half of an ebony.
Finally, and most importantly, this stuff is solvent free, water based and zero VOC, all of which means that I could bring the finished piece right into our kitchen after it dried with no smelly chemicals and no worry of chronic health issues.
This entire project actually started when I decided to sand down the top of the block to remove a few year's worth of knife marks. Once I'd done that I started looking around for wood sealers, all of which, I was grumpy to find out, had mineral oil in them. Mineral oil, despite it's label as 'food safe', is still a byproduct of the petroleum industry. I won't even put mineral oil on my body; I'm not particularly keen to be using it where I chop my veges. Happily, when we were buying the wood stain, right next to it was a bottle of wood sealant with zero petroleum products. So as I stained the bottom cabinet, Jeff used the BioShield salad bowl conditioner on the butcher block top.
So this 2 week project (most of which was taken up with sanding... next time I will pay someone to sandblast the damn thing) has finally come to a close and all our cake, pie and cupcake pans are all safely tucked back into their home and off of our dining room table. And, more importantly, their home has been finished with a fun new, non-toxic finish. Though I don't know that the cake pans actually care, at least not as much as I do.
The only thing I have left to do is decide on the new drawer pulls, something which I know will take me months.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Chia Jello
I'm not sure if all the exercise that I've been doing since January has finally started paying off or if it's the glassful of super healthy chia seeds I've been drinking every morning before my runs, but I've been feeling really good lately.
Just in case it is the chia, I've been finding ways to get more of it into my body. So I've been working on perfecting chia jello. Not using the boxed stuff, but real fruit juice, so I can tell myself that it's actually good for me.
And I think I've finally got it.
Ingredients
1/4 cup chia seeds
3/4 cup fruit juice
3 cups fruit juice (to boil)
1 cup fruit juice (this needs to be cold)
4 envelopes gelatine (I use Knox brand)
Directions
-First, you'll want to put the chia seeds into a container that holds two cups of liquid. (I mixed these in a one cup measure which made one of the steps below a bit more difficult.)
-Add the 3/4 cup of juice to the seeds and stir well.
-Let sit for 3 minutes and then stir again. Now let it sit in the fridge for an hour or two to give the seeds time to plump up.
-Remove the chia and juice from the fridge and stir well, making sure there are no clumps.
-Put the 3 cups of juice in a pan and heat til boiling.
-While the juice is heating, sprinkle the gelatine over the 1 cup of cold juice.
-Let sit for a minute and then stir til it's nice and smooth.
-In a heatproof bowl (or the pan itself), mix the boiling juice in with the gelatine and juice and stir for 5 minutes until all of the gelatine is dissolved and the mixture has cooled down somewhat.
-Now add some of this liquid to the chia seeds, maybe a quarter cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. This thins the mixture and keeps it from clumping when it's all combined.
-Stir the thinned chia seed mixture into the rest of the liquid.
-Pour in your mold(s).
I used wide mouth half pint jars because I liked the idea of making individual serving sizes. I was guessing that they'd be handy to pull out of the fridge after each day's run, and you know what? I was right.
Just in case it is the chia, I've been finding ways to get more of it into my body. So I've been working on perfecting chia jello. Not using the boxed stuff, but real fruit juice, so I can tell myself that it's actually good for me.
And I think I've finally got it.
Ingredients
1/4 cup chia seeds
3/4 cup fruit juice
3 cups fruit juice (to boil)
1 cup fruit juice (this needs to be cold)
4 envelopes gelatine (I use Knox brand)
Directions
-First, you'll want to put the chia seeds into a container that holds two cups of liquid. (I mixed these in a one cup measure which made one of the steps below a bit more difficult.)
-Add the 3/4 cup of juice to the seeds and stir well.
-Let sit for 3 minutes and then stir again. Now let it sit in the fridge for an hour or two to give the seeds time to plump up.
-Remove the chia and juice from the fridge and stir well, making sure there are no clumps.
-Put the 3 cups of juice in a pan and heat til boiling.
-While the juice is heating, sprinkle the gelatine over the 1 cup of cold juice.
-Let sit for a minute and then stir til it's nice and smooth.
-In a heatproof bowl (or the pan itself), mix the boiling juice in with the gelatine and juice and stir for 5 minutes until all of the gelatine is dissolved and the mixture has cooled down somewhat.
-Now add some of this liquid to the chia seeds, maybe a quarter cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. This thins the mixture and keeps it from clumping when it's all combined.
-Stir the thinned chia seed mixture into the rest of the liquid.
-Pour in your mold(s).
I used wide mouth half pint jars because I liked the idea of making individual serving sizes. I was guessing that they'd be handy to pull out of the fridge after each day's run, and you know what? I was right.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Spicy Pickled Carrots
I had my first taste of these this last winter, when Jenny, Aurora and I stopped off at a little burrito place in my neighborhood.
Soon I started thinking that I ought to figure out the recipe for myself, because, while they're not that expensive at the restaurant, I knew they'd be even cheaper to make at home. And the idea of having them as close as my refrigerator door was wonderfully appealing.
These are so addictive. I could sit and eat an entire bowl of them. And since I'm at home during the day, having carrots that actually taste good to snack on is brilliant.
My internet search turned up various recipes, which I've combined into this one. The one that makes me happy.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
3 cloves of garlic (peeled and sliced)
3 bay leaves
8 peppercorns
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 to 3 jalapenos (sliced)
1 pound carrots (peeled and chopped into whatever size your heart desires)
Optional Vegetables to try instead of carrots
1 bunch radishes (cleaned and trimmed)
1 onion (sliced)
cauliflower
Instructions
-Add the vinegar, water and all the spices (including the jalapenos) to a pot and bring to a boil.
-Add the carrots (or whatever other type of vege you want to pickle... radishes, onion, cauliflower) and simmer until they are the texture you prefer. Joey likes them pretty crunchy. I prefer them cooked a bit more. I went ahead and added a few radishes in with the carrots for this batch, but I would suggest doing them separately so that they each get cooked to the right texture.
-Use a slotted spoon to scoop the vegetables into a mason jar (or two).
-Pour in the liquid until everything is completely covered (note- you most likely won't need all of the liquid unless your vegetables take up more than one jar)
-Screw on a lid and pop in the fridge.
-Really, you can go ahead and eat these as soon as they've cooled, but know that they do get better the longer you can let them sit. If you *can* let them sit, that is.
What other vegetables do you think this would work with?
Cabbage or Zucchini, maybe? But those wouldn't really need to be cooked for more than a minute or two, if at all.
Maybe I'll have to try those today.
Soon I started thinking that I ought to figure out the recipe for myself, because, while they're not that expensive at the restaurant, I knew they'd be even cheaper to make at home. And the idea of having them as close as my refrigerator door was wonderfully appealing.
These are so addictive. I could sit and eat an entire bowl of them. And since I'm at home during the day, having carrots that actually taste good to snack on is brilliant.
My internet search turned up various recipes, which I've combined into this one. The one that makes me happy.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
3 cloves of garlic (peeled and sliced)
3 bay leaves
8 peppercorns
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 to 3 jalapenos (sliced)
1 pound carrots (peeled and chopped into whatever size your heart desires)
Optional Vegetables to try instead of carrots
1 bunch radishes (cleaned and trimmed)
1 onion (sliced)
cauliflower
Instructions
-Add the vinegar, water and all the spices (including the jalapenos) to a pot and bring to a boil.
-Add the carrots (or whatever other type of vege you want to pickle... radishes, onion, cauliflower) and simmer until they are the texture you prefer. Joey likes them pretty crunchy. I prefer them cooked a bit more. I went ahead and added a few radishes in with the carrots for this batch, but I would suggest doing them separately so that they each get cooked to the right texture.
-Use a slotted spoon to scoop the vegetables into a mason jar (or two).
-Pour in the liquid until everything is completely covered (note- you most likely won't need all of the liquid unless your vegetables take up more than one jar)
-Screw on a lid and pop in the fridge.
-Really, you can go ahead and eat these as soon as they've cooled, but know that they do get better the longer you can let them sit. If you *can* let them sit, that is.
What other vegetables do you think this would work with?
Cabbage or Zucchini, maybe? But those wouldn't really need to be cooked for more than a minute or two, if at all.
Maybe I'll have to try those today.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Happy 4th of July
The wave of the future is not the conquest of the world by a single dogmatic creed but the liberation of the diverse energies of free nations and free men.
-John F. Kennedy
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