TUTORIAL TIPS AND TIDBITS #4

The internet is filled with so many creative bloggers! Since TUTORIALS, TIPS AND TIDBITS began  I guess I have been focusing on blogger's DYI's! We can make, build, cook, upcycle, sew, weld (well, I haven't found that one yet but I am sure it is out there) decorate, demolish, knit, paint, copy, modge podge,  tie-dye,  frame, weave, stain, transfer, stencil, grow... and a whole lot more!

We are a talented group!

Here are a few posts to prove it...

FREEZING ZUCCHINI TUTORIAL, REALLY?

A LITTLE REMINDER BEFORE WE BEGIN...

TUTORIAL TIPS AND TIDBITS goes live this evening at 8:00

Join us with your great tutorials, helpful tips and any tidbit you want to just show off and show us!

FREEZING ZUCCHINI TUTORIAL...

I love growing zucchini... and picking it... and cooking with it! But I hate freezing it!

Since I have a garden and grow zucchini, it only makes sense that I have an OVERabundance of zucchini.

And that means freezing... what a thankless job~ it is such a mess! Grating, and bagging~ my countertops, floors and clothes are covered with zucchini shards!

THERE'S GOTTA BE A BETTER WAY!

There is!

There are those tasks and little jobs that we do by rote... not giving much thought to them. And maybe there is a better, more efficient, less messier and easier way!

It may sound a little silly to have a tutorial about freezing zucchini, but these little tips really helped me... so I thought I would pass them along. Hope they help you too!

~ Cut all big baseball bat type zucchini into managable chunks. Half the zucchini lengthwise. 

~Scoop out any seeds with a spoon. You are better scooping than scraping.

~ Don't use a box grater if you have a lot of zucchinis to grate. Use the grater attachment on your food processor! Magic!

~ When using a freezer zip-type bag, freeze the zucchini in 2 cup servings.

Get a 2 cup mug or glass. Put the bag in the mug and fold the locking top of the bag over the edge of the mug.

Fill the bag full with zucchini.

~ Use tongs to transfer the zucchini from the food processor to the freezer bag in the mug. This was a revelation to me...I HATE getting zucchini stuck to my hands! Easy and no zucchini hands!!!!

~ Line a large rimmed baking tray with parchment and put the cup with the freezer bag on the tray. Keep the zucchini mess on the tray.

When you are done, fold up the parchment and throw the zucchini shards away! Look clean work space!

~ Seal the bag trying to get as much air out of the bag as possible. Stack to freeze. I have a  upright freezer and a secondary frig with a freezer on top.  I use my freezer on top as a "holding tank" until things freeze hard and then I transfer them to the upright freezer.

~ Here is a tip for anyone who has an electric bag sealer. I have a Food Saver and love it.

If you are freezing "wet" food put it into the bag, fold down the top and secure it with a clothespin and put it in the freeger. When the content of the bag is frozen it is much easier to seal.

I bagged four cups of zucchini, put a clothespin on it and laid them on their side so they would lie flat (because no liquid would seep out). Once frozen I sealed it with my Food Saver and put it in my big upright freezer.

~When you want to use your zucchini... remove it from the freezer and thaw in a colander. Squeeze out the excess liquid before using.

Here are a couple things I make with zucchini:

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OPEN HOUSE PARTY at No Minimalist Here

UPSCALE SHELLS

Summer is the time for shells, beach cottages and all things surf and sand! I pour over magazines who's beach  homes are graced with views of bright blue water and white sandy beaches.

Homes filled with bleached linens, outdoor showers and lots of beachy elements! Things that are swoon worthy... but do not work with my Lancaster County home! 

Determined not to miss out on the summery feel of beach life, I am upscaling shells to make them feel at home in my family room decor...

To make this work in my traditional farmhouse inspired home, I chose just a couple of beach elements... shells and rope knots... and contained them to one area of my family room... the coffee table.

I also kept a very tight color palette which helps tie the vignette together. These colors would be found at the beach... sand beige... blue...white... and soft textural browns. 

Mixing just a wee bit of coastal detail with decor elements that are authentic to my family room gives them an upscale and not contrived or out of place look. There is no way I can pull off a full blown beach look in the middle of bucolic farmland!

Shells, starfish and sand dollars fill a blue willow bowl that is set on a complimentary saucer. The shapes, texture and color of the shells looks so pretty  in this very traditional bowl and give the shells a more upscale feel.

This big flat-bottomed basket has great texture and  works well to hold the books that work as a riser for the bowl full of shells and little blue pitcher.

If you look carefully in the picture above... the top book is one I published of our vacation in Bar Harbor last summer. I like MY PUBLISHER to make books. It is a bit addictive!

Big rope knots in blue and white continue the beachy theme.

A big glass bowl on a wrought iron stand holds assorted white shells. A white candle is nestled in the middle to bring a soft glow to the arrangement.

This vignette bring a little bit of the beach to my family room!

Don't forget TUTORIALS TIPS AND TIDBITS goes live Wednesday evening at 8::00!  Bring your great ideas, tutorials, and things you want to show off!

WOW US WEDNESDAY at Savvy Southern Style

MAKE IT PRETTY MONDAY at The Dedicated House

OPEN HOUSE PARTY at No Minimalist Here

HOME SWEET HOME at Charm Of Home

ALL ABOUT COLOR at Thistlewood Farm

ON THE MENU MONDAY~ WEEK OF JULY 9, 2012

The farm to fork craze has captured the nation in recent years. Also known as farm to table or eating in season... this is nothing new for the avid backyard gardener.

No matter the size of our gardens...a couple of tomato plants in patio planters or a big swath filled with rows of vegetables, we eat from the land. Everything tastes so much better when we grow it ourselves!

SUNDAY SCRIPTURE~ JULY 8, 2012

Synagogue ruins, Israel

Watch what God does, and then you do it... like children who learn proper behavior from your parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with Him and learn a life of love.

Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious, but extravagant! 

He did not love us to get something from us but to give everything of Himself to us. 

LOVE LIKE THAT!

Ephesians 5:1-2, The Message

BEE SKEPS ON THE BACK PORCH

The summer heatwave has taken it's toll on many of my fragile porch plants. Dispite watering and tending, the heat is just too much for their shallow roots.

Replacing them gives me a chance to bring new mid-summer decor to the potting bench...

The potting bench on my back porch is a great place to display some of my bee skep collection. I have never met a skep that I didn't want to take home!

There is something romantic about the idea of keeping bees! I would like to have them as long as someone else would do all the work... haha!

So, for now... I 'll display the bee skeps and let someone else keep the bees in this 100 degree weather!

SEASONAL SUNDAYS at The Tablescapers

DUTCH BABIES... mini version

Isn't everything better in a mini version? I sure think so. There is just something about babies!  And DUTCH BABIES are no exception!

Dutch Babies are little pillowy clouds filled with fruity sweetness! A cross between a pancake and a crepe... eggy deliciousness...



And very easy to make. Don't you just love food that is insanely easy to make and looks like you have slaved away in a hot kitchen for hours!

A raspberry peach sauce fills the little wells in each Dutch Baby. Then they are lightly sprinkled with powered sugar. Soooooo good!

This is a pinterest find! I really love making the food I pin.

DUTCH BABIES... mini version
1 cup milk
6 eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp orange zest
1/4 cup melted butter
powdered sugar in small sieve
lemon wedges
favorite sauce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Blend all of the ingredients in a blender except melted butter.
Blend in butter a little at a time so eggs do not scramble.
Grease muffin tins well.

Fill each muffin cup 1/2 full of batter.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the Dutch Babies are puffy and golden on the top.

When they come out of the oven, they will deflate a little and make a well in the center.

Plate and fill with fruit sauce or maple syrup.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with a lemon wedge (to squeeze over your Dutch Baby)

RASPBERRY PEACH SAUCE
6 oz. raspberries, washed
1 large peach, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup raspberry jam

Put raspberries, peaches and sugar into a saucepan. Crush fruit with a potato masher. Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and simmers for 3 minutes.

Add raspberry jam. Heat until jam dissolves. Keep warm. Pour in the well of the Dutch Babies.

Scrumptious!

PRINTABLE VERISON

Calling all foodies...

FOODIE FRIDAY at Rattlebridge Farm

TUTORIAL TIPS AND TIDBITS #3

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY EVERYONE!  Thank you so much for joining this new venture with me!
I have had so many kind and supportive comments about TTT~ thanks everyone. It's so nice to know that in blogland there is room for ONE MORE linky party!

So let's get this party started!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY...

From our home to yours!

Remember TUTORIALS TIPS AND TIDBITS linky goes live 8:00 pm tonight!