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Garlic Confit

The secret to awesome mashed potatoes lies in this post…

I love garlic. I really do.

First: Find a willing helper for the tedious ask of unwrapping garlic. Yes, I have various devices that can help me do this, but none work as well as the gentle smash of chef’s knife and the small fingers of a child. I cut the root ends off first. You could also blanch them for a quick minute but I needed to get going right away.

Enter: First-born child who would cook anything I asked her to even if she doesn’t really know how.

Secondly, add garlic (I used about 40) to the pan and cover with a neutral oil (think canola or grapeseed).

Gently simmer for about 45 minutes stirring every now and then. There should only be tiny bubbles.

Store in the fridge for about a week.

Adding this garlic confit and a little of the oil to mashed potatoes is exceptionally wonderful. It allows for an awesome garlic flavor without it attacking your mouth.

I’ve since used it as a spread on sandwiches, in a fritatta, and in a sauce.

You could also spread it on this beauty, fresh out of the oven…

I’ve been making Martha Stewart’s Olive Oil Bread at least once a week for the past 7 weeks and it has been lovely.

Garlic Confit recipe adapted from Thomas Keller’s recipe from the Bouchon cookbook.

The 5 minute hair bow

For those of you who have not yet discovered the ease of creating with felt:

Felt requires no hemming, tweaking, or edge finishing. It hides a multitude of mistakes and doesn’t demand hours of attention for a successful project.

I had an hour to myself on a lovely (and quite golden) Sunday afternoon. My wonderful husband took the kids on a nature walk (I know…yes, he is quite awesome). I love making things with the kids, but sometimes it’s nice to start and finish a project without glue spilling on an antique chair (yep…whole bottle of Mod Podge. I couldn’t find the picture), putting paint on our dog’s tail, or just the constant questioning of my technique and whether I’m sure I am doing it the right way (Faith is very creative so she comes up with a LOT of alternatives).

What to make?

Faith asked for a red bow for school to make her uniform less boring.
I have a lot of extra red felt from a Christmas project I had good intentions for but never started.
I’ve been try to find a worthy use for some lace my Grandma gave me.
I want to actually finish this for an immediate sense of completion.
I just got new Martha Stewart glue I’ve been wanting to test for fabric usage.

The 5 minute red felt hair ribbon with lace was created!

Start with a 1 inch wide by 12 inch long piece of felt.
Cut a “V” on the ends for the ribbon shape.
Put the base of the cut “V” shape at the ends of the hair clip being used. Secure with glue along both sides until they meet in the middle.
Take the remaining piece of felt from the middle and push down until it forms 2 loops. Glue to felt below.
Tightly wrap a piece of lace (or even a piece of the felt) around the middle a few times and cut so the seam is underneath. Glue.

DONE!

Freckle Sandwiches

My kids as sandwiches…including freckles. My husband called these “Easter Island” sandwich heads.

Here is one way to ensure lunch is gobbled up. I’ve seen so many wonderful photos of Japanese lunches lately. Their food is made with such care it’s so contagious! I don’t know if a Japanese mom makes them that way every day, but either way they are pretty amazing to look at and certainly inspiring. Bento boxes are getting pretty popular again and I hope the fresh food comes with it.

Yes, I am aware blueberries are out of place in this sandwich, but what’s a mom to do when you have no olives to slice and you are in need of sandwich eyeballs? I rest my case. Blueberries it is.

I have found that kids will eat the very same foods they pretend to dislike in completely different forms (even though we still have them eat them with a smiling face and excitement to grow big and strong).

Example: Turkey Sandwich with cheese and tomato

Turn into: sliced cheese, pieces of sliced turkey, tomatoes and whole wheat crackers arranged on a plate for them to create with.

Turn into: cheese quesadillas with turkey, diced tomatoes (add some chives for color and dash of vitamin K).

Turn into: cracker pizzas with a cracker as a base. Add turkey, cheese, a slice of tomato. Microwave or melt ingredients until just softened and add some fresh chopped basil (note: adding it before microwaving will result in ugly brown basil. blech).

Turn into: snail wraps which are all the above common ingredients in a tortilla wrap. You slice the wrap once rolled and add a cornichon (read small) pickle for the snail head. Put the roll on its side and attach the pickle to it with a toothpick.

Prepare to go ‘awww’.

Turn into: panini it or make a grilled cheese with it! Kids LOVE melt-y cheese.

The food is basically the same regardless of the composition and kids love to have a litte bit of control so why does it matter how it gets inside? Right?

Peeps the other way

Look at those little cuties. I love that they are not perfect because that means the kids were do them by themselves and making it their own sweet little way. I have to admit I was excited to finally get to use my hippo cookie cutter (eek!).

The possibilities extend as far as your cookie cutter collection.

Use up those superfluous sprinkles that have gathered in your cupboard.

The kiddos can dip cutters in cornstarch and squish it down until it can be squished no more. If you have a spray bottle you could spritz the marshmallows so that the sugar coats more evenly, but I was just enjoying the moment and didn’t want to flirt with perfection.

The best part of making your own peeps (besides eating the extra marshmallow pieces) is picking your favorite shape…like a hippo.

Maple marshmallow recipe adapted from this one:

4 envelopes unflavored gelatin

3 c. sugar

1 c. maple sugar

1/4 c. corn syrup (it can be all maple but I didn’t have enough)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/1/2 c. cornstarch

I’ve found that recipes either call for cornstarch or powdered sugar. Powdered sugar leaves a more pleasant (read sweeter) effect, while cornstarch can be pretty plain (read tasteless). However, powdered sugar will eventually absorb moisture and harden, while cornstarch keeps your marshmallows “pillow-y” soft. Bummer for the sweet-tooth crowd, but i guess there is enough sugar in these little fellas already.

Photo reel from a 5 year old

Sometimes it’s nice to give your camera to a 5 year old and just watch what happens. You might be amazed.

(it was a 50mm lens, hence the close-ups)