The consistent kitchen

The other night Jonathan noticed me flipping back and forth between the two Angelina Ballerina books we had in the house. "What are you doing?"
Me: "I LOVE this kitchen! Look at it! Look how intricate it is!"
Him: "And you're comparing the two to see if they're consistent?"
Me: pause. He caught me. "Yeeeessss..."

So today at the library I checked out a few more, and settled down for a thorough kitchen comparison. The answer is yes, Helen Craig is consistent in the portrayal of the Mouselings' kitchen. The number of beams, pipes, and other permanent items are the same, the pots and kettles on the stove are the same pots, the dishware patterns are the same, and while the items on the pantry shelf are not identical, they're arranged in the same way consistent with an actual cook who uses the staples on her shelf. For what it's worth, the best view of the full kitchen is in the original Angelina Ballerina book on the page where Angelina knocks over a plate of cheese pies.

Jonathan laughed. "I'm glad you compared them and they're consistent. I really am."

About those turnips

Bitter turnips look like a pretty common problem. This author recommends peeling them and adding sugar. This thread says the bitterness gets worse with age and sponginess. Wikipedia and another article talk about how there's a genetic component to how intensely people taste the bitterness of turnips and other cyanoglucoside-filled greens like kale.

This is probably why potatoes caught on.


Update: I'd forgotten it, but I blogged about turnips back in '08, complete with a recipe for Pirate Stew.
I had also linked The Great Turnip Conversation, which is still pretty darn funny.

Three projects

Milani 116 Hot Pink, Revlon 250 Pink Freeze

 I put together THREE quick projects today which I thought I'd share.

First: ombre toenails. They turned out pretty cute. I swiped across the ends of my nails with the opaque Revlon polish, let it dry, and then painted over the entire nail with the sheer sparkly Milani one. I like it for a cheerful early-spring look.

Formerly white sneakers

Second, I picked up a pair of white canvas tennies to oxford-ify. These came from Wal-Mart for $5, so if they were a disaster, not much harm done. I painted them with red craft paint and then sprayed them with hairspray to hold it. Woo! We'll have to see how they hold up.

Pot pie

For my third project, turnip-and-chicken pot pie. The method was great, but the turnips were bitter. Next time I'll go with potatoes.

I cooked a giant chicken breast in the crock pot with the diced turnips, carrots, and onions, as well as a couple chicken bouillion cubes, a dash of sage and bay leaf, and salt and pepper. Then after Jonathan got home I shredded the chicken and put it all on the stovetop with a little milk, butter, and flour to make the broth thick like gravy. Then I tossed it into an oven-safe bowl, put a bought piecrust on top, and baked the thing.

Ideally, the crockpot would be stovetop and oven-safe so I don't have to use THREE pots, but oh well. I like this method because all the prep can be done early in the day when I have time and energy and then it comes together quickly for dinner.

A really strong cup of tea?

The old coffeeshop in Los Alamos had a sign to the effect of:

"Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love."

That's kind of how I feel about tea. But I'm finding decaf tea bags, especially the cheap ones I buy, tend to be lacking in the strength and flavor departments. So, I know a lot of you guys who read this also drink tea. Can anyone please recommend a non-fancy-flavored decaf black tea that comes out really, really strong?

Tea time

Meg and I had a lovely day at a different library, exploring, and at the playground with some other families. When we came home, I celebrated naptime with a cup of tea. The rose on the tag even matched my mug.

The things she says

I love Meg's relationship with grammar. It's so reasonable and not-really-English. She uses "Me too" to mean, "I agree!" As in, "Cinnamon rolls are yummy." "Me too, Mommy!" She uses "snuggle" as a transitive (and imperative) verb, as in, "Snuggle Pooh bear now!"

Of course, some of her conversation is just funny. She was talking to her auntie on the phone and that gold bust of Bismarck on her top shelf came up. "Bismarck is heavy. Love him. Love Bismarck, love Bismarck, love Bismarck." I am ruining my child.

In other news, while Meg was napping today and not talking, I applied the lemon oil of righteousness to the baseboards of humidity, and they went from grayish blah to shiny and wooden-looking. My method is simple: apply lemon oil to rag, apply oily rag to wood. Repeat as needed. Good stuff, lemon oil.

Red rocks

We went adventuring on Saturday and discovered Red Rock Wilderness Overlook.

It's a small wilderness, but then we have a small girl. But it does have trees, streams, bridges, unpaved trails, steep cliffs with actual rocks showing, and even access to the Potomac!

Now that is exciting.

February isn't really its best and brightest. A few wild roses and clumps of grass and moss were just starting to sprout. The river bottom was all grayish and sandy, kind of blasted-heath looking. I think it gets flooded and not much ever grows down there. The woods are probably prettier in summer.

But did I mention it has real trees, hills, streams, bridges, and access to the Potomac??

I think we'll go back soon.

Necklaces

Peacock necklace

I love holiday weekends. Yesterday I puttered around and organized my recipe binders, and today I puttered and organized my necklace collection.

A lot of my jewelry is really boring. I also have a bunch of necklace-less pendants, single earrings, and bracelets that aren't my style anymore. So, I spent my afternoon taking them apart and reassembling them to be more interesting.

Detail of peacock pendant

This peacock necklace started as a lonely earring, two bracelets, and a hummingbird pendant from my great-aunt.

Seal and jewel

This was a Forever 21 necklace and a red jewel I got free with ordering a magazine. They look good together.

Russian necklace

I liked this combination. It's a really heavy former earring on a bead chain I got at a museum store. A single brass loop finding was visually too light for the pairing, so I used three to heft it up. It strikes me as vaguely Russian, in that "yes it's forty below but we're going to wear velvet and go to the opera" kind of way.

Pink rose

My sister gave me that rose pendant and it's been languishing ever since. I attached a pink sparkly pendant I've had forever and a couple of doo-dads off other jewelry I dismantled. I feel like it could still use something, so I'm going to think about it and maybe add more.

Chunky pearls

This is my lovely new pearl necklace which broke. All the hardware was still good, which was nice, so I just gave it a new wire.

I love holiday projects. Anybody else make things this weekend?

Cello Wars

Must watch. It's Star Wars, only with dueling cellos. And lightsabers. And dancing. Chewbacca's in there too. "You will start cello lessons... now."

Thanks to Sarah B., who sent it my way.

Downton Abbey updates

Downton Abbey. Ay-yi-yi. We watched three more episodes tonight of Season Two.

Personally, I think Mary needs to get out of the engagement with the newspaper man NOW, and tell him to publish the scandal and be darned. It's a problem when the guy threatens his fiancee. Also, he has ugly taste in decor. We thought he was untrustworthy, and now we know. Mary should then go marry Matthew. I can't remember - she did tell him about the Turkish guy, right? But he won't care, not really. Lavinia's a really nice girl, but he tends to be on best behavior for her, and you notice Mary's always the one holding the throw-up bowl. I think they'll be happier with a spouse they can depend on.

Jonathan called that interesting plot development with Bates' wife! We're debating how and why. I don't think Bates or Anna is responsible, and it wasn't her because she had him over a barrel. Maybe her old lover?

I suppose Sybil is about to tell her parents she wants to run away with the Communist Irishman chauffeur and Granny will make unhelpful snarky comments.  If he were a really wonderful guy, it would be worth ditching her family over, but he's not. What, does he intend to put her up in his parents' cottage milking cows while he goes and revolts in Dublin? Sybil's got terrible taste in men.

So does Edith, for that matter. I'm not convinced the missing heir was legit, but he was certainly annoying. Whoever he was. I don't suppose he'll die for real and spare us his presence in any future episodes...

O'Brien is turning out almost human, but then Bates or somebody always snaps at her. I wish someone would be kind. She might come back to the light side. Thomas, well, Thomas is just trouble.

Poor Daisy doesn't have "the sense God gave the common goose" as Jonathan put it. I kind of expected William to live just to make things awkward. I do hope Daisy bucks up and keeps on with her determination not to take the widow pension. Mrs. Padmore's perpetual bad advice was really inexcusable. Why didn't Anna or Mrs. Hughes intervene??

Also, I think Lord Grantham still doesn't know about the deal with the Turkish man. They need to stop hoarding secrets around that house.