Girlz Day Out

Girlz Day Out is something that a couple friends and myself do every so often. Sometimes it's just a lunch date. Other times it's a long distance adventure. We don't have a set time to do this like once a month or every other month. Just whenever we're in the mood. This past Saturday was the day. We had planned a visit to a thrift shop in a YWCA in a town about 30 miles west of here. This shop is a fund raiser for the local domestic violence ministry. My friends and I all found items we couldn't live without. Of course it helped that the black and red plaid wool jacket I bought was $2.50 and the voile pink and black floral big shirt I liked was $3.00. My friends also bought jackets and blouses. It happened also to be a beautiful, sunshiny day. Our next stop was the Jello-o museum. Though this is relatively close to us (30 miles) but none of us had ever been there. The museum is a small unassuming building but the history of Jell-o is magnificent. We had a guided tour by a Jell-o expert who led us into the museum, bid us to sit down on a bench, like school children, while he regaled us with Jell-o history.

The product had a very difficult birth. The first couple owners could not make it a commercial success. The company was sold a couple times for very small amounts - like 35.00 one time and 450.00 another time. Finally it became the property of a gentleman with VISION. The year was 1899 and most American housewives had never heard of a jelled dessert. Also - just add water - was a totally new concept to them. Many did not have refrigeration but did have methods for cooling (like ice) and Ice Boxes, springhouses, etc. A MARKETING STRATEGY was initiated. The Jell-o executive hired and trained a sales crew, dressed them in business attire, provided transportaion for them to go on the road with samples. His directions to his salesmen: give the product away for free. Visit every home. At one, give a packet of Jell-o. At the next, give away a recipe book.

He paid sales calls to the grocers and encouraged them to stock Jell-O on their shelves. Then it went viral. And the rest is history. The museum had advertising campaigns to show us. Large original oil paintings which were reproduced in newspapers and magazines. By the time radio and television arrived on the scene, all the biggest celebrities got in on the Jell-O buzz. Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Kate Smith, Lucille Ball plugged Jell-O on their programs. Bill Cosby was Jell-O spokesman for thirty years.

The early packaging was designed by the the Kewpie Doll founder. Therefore, it was very Kewpie Doll-ish. See picture above. Jell-O has a long and industrious history with many, many products following the original jelled dessert. Next came Jell-O pudding, then both instant Jell-O and pudding, then sugarless, pudding pops, jigglers and, the latest - Jell-O shots (made like a jiggler but with vodka instead of water) (for adults only). We thoroughly enjoyed our jaunt to Jell-O Land but we were only at the half-way mark on our Girlz Day Out. The Town's Historical Museum was our next stop. That will be the subject of next weeks blog.

What Are Little Girls Made Of ?

Sugar and spice and everything nice. That's what little girls are made of. Nursery rhyme - Unknown author. This is a DIY tutorial for a cute little embellished photo of your favorite l'il moppet. First: take a photo of the child preferably with her arms outstretched. This is so that you can attach her long skirt around her torso and have her arms and hands exposed. Print the photo on card stock.

Then carefully cut out the picture like you would a paper doll. I ran this cut out paper doll through my embossing machine. But you can also cover both sides of the photo with clear contact. You'll need to cut around that as well.

I taped a 6" long popsicle stick to the doll back to keep it stable. Using the double stick red line industrial tape.

Prepare the base. I used a 2" wooden circle from the craft store. I glued an old fashioned clothespin upside down onto the middle of the circle with wood glue. Let it dry overnight. Paint the entire stand black. Let it dry well.

Prepare the skirt. I used a folded in half vintage hankie for the skirt. Just use your imagination for your skirt fabric. (tulle, ribbon, purchase pre-made ruffle from the craft store, etc.) I gathered my hankie. You may have to gather fabric. If you use wired ribbon, just pull the wire to gather. If you buy a snippet of pre-gathered eyelet lace from the fabric store, you're home free.

I attached the skirt to the doll by wrapping the red line tape above the waist (empire style)all around both front and back of doll. Then I pressed my skirt onto the tape. I left my skirt open in the front because my vintage hankie had handmade lace all around four sides of the hankie. With my skirt in place I wrapped a narrow ribbon around her waist to finish it off.

Now you're ready to place your paper doll into the stand. I put a bit of wood glue on the bottom of the stabilizing popsicle stick before I slid the doll into the stand because I wanted her to stand high enough to accommodate her long skirt.

Vintage Finds - Redesigned

Vintage finds, redesigned. This is my catch phrase for my sammysgrammy etsy shop. This inclination has been a part of who I am for so long, I don't remember when it started. I just remember always remaking, repurposing, redesigning from my earliest childhood. As a 12 year old, I redesigned my grandmother's sewing machine cover to be a skirt for the vanity in my bedroom. Even the dressing table was a reuse of a maple desk. In my naivete, I thumbtacked the skirt to the table. It looked so "girlie" and that was exactly my intention. I was a very happy 12 year old about my room. I actually still am on the hunt for items I can repurpose. Quite some time ago, I came across a white chenille bedspread at an estate sale. I bought it. My intention was to make one of those maxi length swing coat/dusters from it but I could never bring myself cut into the fabric and desecrate it's beautiful purpose.

You may know about the kind of weather we've been having in the northeast of the U.S.A. this summer. Blistering temperatures and no rain. I desperately needed a lighter than air bedspread. I can't sleep without covers but this summer, I wanted those covers to be thin, light, cloudlike, a whisper. I thought of the stashed bedspread. It was exactly perfect. The backround for the chenille design was a very thin, sheetlike fabric. I laundered it and dried it on the clothesline in the backyard. It smelled beautiful - like the outdoors. Then brought it in and put it on my bed. Alas, it didn't fit and didn't look good. I have a queen size bed. When this bedspread was manufactured there was no such thing as a queen size bed. There were singles and doubles and baby cribs. That's it.

My vintage bedspread did not drop down on the sides long enough. And it was enormously long lengthwise. In circa 1940 the happy homemaker made her double bed by letting the bedspread edges all drop approximately the same length all around the bed. Therefore the sides and foot of the bed all looked uniform. The huge amount of fabric remaining at the head board was used to wrap around the pillows. Voila! the bed was made. In the 21st century, we dress beds totally different. We don't cover pillows with bedspread. We actually highlight pillows, covering them with shams, adding lots and lots of them to make the bed look a bit like the bed of the princess in "The Princess and the Pea" story book. Therefore I cut off the extra length of the bedspread. I will make a pillow sham from it one day. Next, I needed to add depth to the sides and bottom. After much design-think, I decided on tulle. I purchased double the length of the 3 sides I wanted to extend. I stretched out the entire 7 yards of tulle and folded the 54" width of it in half and pressed it with the iron. I then had 4 layers of tulle.

I used 2 packages of clear elastic to gather up the skirt, stretching the elastic and sewing with a zigzag stitch so that when I released the tension on the elastic, the tulle automatically gathered up. The final step was attaching this gigantic tutu to the sides and bottom edge of my vintage bedspread. Now it fit my bed in a manner that pleased my eye. It is perfect for these hot nights. I'm in love with it........

Bird Bath Tutorial

I went on a garden tour a couple weeks ago. This is an annual event for two of my friends and myself. It takes place in one of our suburban towns and is sponsored by the town's Arts Society. This particular town considers gardening to be an art (and I agree). The residents of this town who are involved in the arts are usually members of this Arts Society and volunteer their time, talents and gardens for this, their biggest fundraiser of the year. Therefore, all the gardens on the tour have a plein aire artist sitting at an easel and painting in the garden. Many of the gardens have live music in the garden supplied by members of the Arts Society. The atmosphere is fragrant with the sound of music, lovely snacks, beautiful paintings coming to life and exquisite gardens.

Act III of Rotisserie Chicken - Chicken Tortellini Soup

This is the final act of the rotisserie chicken that I purchased at my local supermarket for $4.99 and created several "meals for one" from................... ______________________________________________________________________ I'm sorry that you find yourself in the position of "cooking for one" and that your dinner companions are the TV or reading matter spread all over your kitchen table. But, simply because this is the most unenviable situation to be in, you should have absolutely delightful meals and not just purely servicable......... _______________________________________________________________________ For the chickie's final application, he's coming to the table as chicken tortellini soup with fresh spinach........................ ________________________________________________________________________ You remember that way back in Act I when I made the chicken quesadilla, I advised you to remove all the rest of the breast meat and use it to make chicken salad (that was Act II) and to wrap up the remaining chicken entire carcass and meat and freeze it - freezing also, the juices that were left in the bottom of the supermarket container that the chicken came home to roost in............... __________________________________________________________________________ Now is the time to remove that package from the freezer. No need to defrost it. First of all, wrap up the carcass in cheese cloth. This is prevent the bones from falling apart and floating around in your soup. (And this is a personal preference) I don't like meat floating in my soup. If it is all wrapped in cheesecloth, it will all stay where it belongs......................... ___________________________________________________________________________ Fill a large soup pot with cool water. Drop you cheesecloth wrapped package gently into the pot along with the juices that were in the store container bottom. Bring pot to a boil, then lower heat to simmer. Skim off any foam which gathers on top. Add veggies to the soup. I like to put them in whole so that it is easy for me to remove them when the soup is done. I put a couple whole stalks of celery - including celery leaves, whole carrots and a whole onion. I also add a small can of tomatoes or fresh tomatoes, if you have them................... ___________________________________________________________________________ Simmer for 1 - 2 hours. Remove wilted veggies. I mash the carrots with a fork and add them back in. I toss the celery and onion. All their goodness is now in the soup. Remove the cheesecloth package. Now you have a lovely clear soup...........

____________________________________________________________________________ Bring it back to a soft boil so you can cook the tortellini right in the soup. I add about half a 1# bag of frozen cheese tortellini to the soup. Cook according to package directions. When the tortellini is almost cooked, I add one half a bag of fresh baby spinach............................................. _____________________________________________________________________________ Dinner's ready. I serve this with a couple tsp. of grated romano/parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. If this doesn't seem like a hearty enough dinner, have a chicken salad sandwich with it. You can also have dessert - because there's not too many calories in the soup.!!!! ______________________________________________________________________________ After I ate my chicken tortellini dinner, I still had two quarts of soup left over. I put one in the freezer for another delightful future meal and the other in the fridge.

Act II of the Rotisserie Chicken

If you read last weeks post, you know I purchased one of those rotisserie chickens from my local supermarket for $4.99. I understand the price has gone up to $5.29 (.30 more). Still a good price for the amount of meals I made from that one little chicken. _______________________________________________________________________ I am cooking for one, so if there's more people to feed at your house, the chicken will not be as good a deal as it is for me. But even if you get 2 meals from it, it's roughly $2.50 a meal. I had at least four meals of chicken tortellini soup, three meals of chicken salad, and one meal of chicken quesadilla. That's eight meals from one little rotisserie chicken. About .63 a meal. _______________________________________________________________________ My recipe for chicken salad - I use only the white meat or breast portion - I shred that into a quart glass measuring bowl (with a cover). Dice a couple ribs of celery - a handful (1/3 cup) of halved grapes or white raisins - a handfull of chopped pecans. Mix that all together. Use enough mayonaise (I use light) to moisten the salad. Before mixing the mayonaise through the salad, I add a sprinkle or two of curry powder to the mayo. In the picture, I have served the chicken salad in a toast cup. But it can also be served on a lettuce leaf or in a sandwich. _____________________________________________________________________ For the toast cup, I buttered both sides of a piece of white bread, put it in a ramekin sprayed with Pam, into a 400 degree over for about 10 minutes.

Meals for One

Anything to do with the kitchen is exciting, stimulating, enjoyment for me. I love everything about it. Presentation, table setting, table linens, cookware, peeling, dicing, chopping, shredding, simmering, broiling, frying, roasting, grilling, sauteing - yes........even shopping. _____________________________________________________________________ Preparing dinner for a crowd of 30 people has me on high alert, making lists, preparing and freezing, rearranging furniture so everyone is comfortable while they eat. I draw up menus, make a time table, get out seldom used serving ware, think about decor (candles, paperware, beverages, etc.) And, all the while, I'm on cloud nine. ______________________________________________________________________ I have arranged a meal for all the faculty and staff in our local Christian School. I recruited a cooking-serving-decorating team. It was a lovely meal, consisting of a first course of chicken soup, chicken parmesan, stuffed shells, salad, Lemon ice for dessert. Backstage, it operated like a well-oiled machine. _______________________________________________________________________ But my current life situation has caught me off guard (a bit). I expected to be preparing meals, at least, for two, until I died. This has not been the case. My precious husband and dear companion went to be with Jesus a little over two years ago. I find myself in this "cooking for one" situation without much practice. But, I think I am finally getting the hang of it and I want to share it with you. Please send the link to this post to those you know who may be struggling with a similar situation and making do with "fast food" or prepared meals, when cooking for one is so rewarding and delicious. ________________________________________________________________________ When you're cooking for one, you usually make a whole bunch of servings - have one of them for dinner, separate the remainder into "one meal" portions and freeze. How lovely to peek into your freezer like you're looking at an array spread out at a sumptuous buffet. ________________________________________________________________________ Here's a START. Buy one of those rotisserie chickens at the supermarket. Choose the least spiced up one. (I usually get the lemon chicken). For tonight's meal - pull a little of the breast off - shred that - set it aside - cover a large tortilla with tex/mex shredded cheese - nuke for about 20 seconds (til the cheese melts)- lay your shredded chicken onto the top half of the tortilla on top of the melted cheese - then add whatever trimmings you like - I like medium hot salsa, sour cream, guacamole, a few scallion bits - roll up the tortilla by first rolling it over the filling, then tuck in the sides, then finish up rolling it, nice and neat. Cut in half crosswize on the diagonal. Serve with a tall glass of iced tea. And, perhaps a bit of dessert. This is very satisfying and meets the RDA food pyramid guide lines. _________________________________________________________________________ After dinner, remove the entire container with chicken to the fridge for tomorrows meal.On the following afternoon, remove remaining breast meat from the rotisserie chicken to make chicken salad from it for tonight's dinner (recipe on next week's post) After making chicken salad with the remaining breast meat, take the chicken carcass with the dark meat on it, wrap it in saran, tuck into a plastic zipper bag and freeze it. Also any juices in the bottom of the supermarket container. Pour them into a small container and freeze. Those will be for the wonderful chicken tortellini soup you'll make for meal #3.