Friday, June 15, 2012

Kitchen Conquests

I love to bake, and I am always looking for new recipes, especially desserts. For several years now, I have been looking for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. I've tried dozens, but have never been satisfied with any of them... until now.

I like a thick, cakey cookie. Moist, chewy, deliciousness- none of that thin, crispy stuff for me. I had found this recipe, which is SOOO easy to make, especially when you're in a hurry. Russ loved it, and the peanut butter is a nice twist, but I was still searching. So this week I came across a Martha Stewart recipe that is officially my new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. I made a small batch to see if we would like it, and will def be making a much larger batch tonight.

Getting prepared

Doesn't look super special yet...


Until they come out and you see they have stayed nice and fluffy and amazing!
 So if you like your cookies cakey- this may be the recipe for you. If you like them another way, just ignore this and realize that we probably can't be friends any more...

On to other kitchen adventures. So Russ and I are both competitive, which makes for some fun times and some not so fun times, depending on the outcome of the competition. We usually try to stay on the same team, so that we leave on the same page- both happy we won or both mad at the other team for cheating, which they obviously did, if we lost. But this week we got competitive with each other. I don't even remember how it started, but someone threw down a salsa challenge, and we both rose to the occasion.

I will say that we like different types of salsa. My Granny Bolton made the best of a lot of things, but I really like her salsa. It was not chunky and had a strong tomato flavor with not a lot of heat. I compare it to Chili's salsa, which I adore and miss A LOT! Russ likes chunky salsa, with more garlic and heat, like the fresh salsa from Blair's (for you Wyoming people). We found recipes online...

HIS      MINE   
Let the contest begin.

Russ' battle station. He had to do a lot of chopping by hand.

My station

And I am not allowed around knives for very long, so I got to use my handy dandy food processor.

My finished product

Russ' finished product

The only problem with this competition is that we both think we won. I love my salsa, and he loves his. Guess it depends on what kind of salsa you like, but since this is my blog, I am declaring it a big win for me a draw. We are both happy with what we ended up with, so I guess that's the best outcome, right?

I was able to finish up a few projects. When we built our house, I found some cute turquoise accents at Hobby Lobby that inspired my master bath decor, but I never could find any art I liked to hang on the wall. But I did find some fabric I loved, so I made my own art. I like how it turned out, and it was super easy and inexpensive.

Love my stapler! Canvas and material for my "art piece." Check.

Cute assistant that was blinded by the flash. Check.

Ta-da! I believe I will hang it on the wall above the toilet. Picture to come later.

She got bored as I continued with the next project, so she sat down with a good book.

And checked with me periodically to see how it was coming along...

So my final project of the week was my patriotic bandana tablecloth. Saw the tutorial here, and although I'm not much of a seamstress, I can handle straight lines. Most of the time...

Six bandanas of each color...

Lots of pinning...

Lots of sewing straight lines for each bunch...

Finished!
It's a little big for my island (3 squares x 6 squares), but will look better on my dining room table or my patio table. Now I will warn you, if you are OCD, (and who isn't at least a little?) this project may drive you nuts. You have to put aside your need for things lining up and perfect corners and edges, because these are inexpensive bandanas and they are not always perfect squares. That's why we use the word RUSTIC. It's a great excuse for a little imperfection in life, which I am learning to embrace. Hence having a toddler. And a husband. And a dog. And other mess-up-your plans and your house but still manage to love every second of it. I digress...

Anyway- that's what has been going on in the Lundvall household this week. I hope everyone has an amazing Father's Day weekend. Until next week!


2 comments:

  1. Ooohh I like homemade salsa. :) Love the tablecloth!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow girl, you've been busy! =)

    ReplyDelete