Bleep Happens

Bleep, as the wise would say, happens. It happens with unfailing regularity. Sometimes it seems to be the only thing happening. All around you. Yeah, yeah, the Internet and the Social Media sites glow every now and again with impossibly photoshopped images of luminous butterflies alighting ever so gently on burn-your-cornea-neon green lawns with computer generated cursive writing proclaiming inane things like ``When one door shuts, another opens".

Phbbt! Like Hell!

No it don't. And that is the truth of it. Bleep happens, no matter what amount of Febreeze you want to spray on it. What whitewash you want to plaster on it. In the end, there is only one truth: Bleep.

Bleep. doth. happen!

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Upcycled Face Lotion Bottle to Reed Dispenser/Vase

I had a used bottle of AVEDA face lotion that I could never bring myself to throw away because of how beautiful and solid it looked. So I converted it to a fragrance reed dispenser, using some paint and masking tape!

The original bottle

I used Martha Stewart's silver liquid gilding paint and a "foam popsicle".

Clean up for this paint is by using xylene. Which I do not have. So, I decided that I will not risk a fine bristled brush on this job until I acquire some xylene!!

And the finished product:

The edges did not come out quite that sharp. May be next time I will get frog tape instead of painters tape.

And oh, yes, I lied a little. It's not quite finished. This is how far I got before I had to stop last year.

I think I will finish it up sometime this year. If you look closely you can see the lettering still kinda visible under the silver paint. May be I will fix that too. Or may be I wont bother.

Who says you only have to use it as a reed dispenser? You can also use it to display your awesome flowers:

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Lentil Pistachio Salad in Lime EVOO Dressing

I read somewhere that pairing lentils and pistachio nuts gives you a complete protein profile. So I have been thinking about how to combine these two in something awesome. Today, was the day that I finally managed to make this salad.

The Ingredients

• 3.25 cups of cooked whole lentils. Not mushy, just cooked.
• 1/4 cup salted, roasted pistachios-- shelled
• 2.5 cups of chopped carrots
• 1 garlic pod
• juice of 1/2 a lime
• 1 Tbsp cumin seeds
• 3" piece cinnamon stick
• 1 tomatillo (completely unnecessary -- I added it because I had it)
• You could sub celery or green/red peppers for above
• EVOO -- 1/8 cups or less
• salt and pepper corns to taste

The Method

1. To make the cooked lentils: I soak a whole batch of whole lentils in water for a day or a little more. Rinse and then cook it all in a pot of water. I don't use pressure cooker for this, because pressure cookers will make the lentils mushy. It should be possible to cook it in the electric rice cooker, although I have never tried. I store the cooked lentils in the freezer and use as necessary.
2. Put 1/8 cup of salted, shelled pistachio in a blender or food processor and pulse to chop it unevenly and set aside.
3. Chop the carrots and microwave them for about 2 minutes -- cooking them slightly lets the beta carotene be more accessible.
4. Chop the other veggies-- tomatillos or green pepper or celery
5. Combine all of these ingredients in a large bowl.
6. Squeeze a half of the lime into the blender
7. Add the olive oil.
8. Drop in the cinnamon sticks and cumin seeds
9. Add a few pepper corns and a little salt
10. Give it all a whir in the blender until it looks creamy. Some of the cinnamon pieces and peppers will not have ground up well. That's what I like since I like to see some texture in my dressing.
11. Add the finely chopped garlic into the blender and give it a final whir to incorporate everything together.
12. Pour dressing over the salad and mix thoroughly. Enjoy!

Some resources:

• To cook or not to cook your veggies
• Other lentil-pistachio salads:
• http://foodbloggaprintrecipes.blogspot.com/2012/04/raw-beet-lentil-and-pistachio-salad.html
• http://food52.com/recipes/12861-lentil-salad-with-fresh-peas-pistachios-mint-sheep-s-milk-feta

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And Now it's the Lilac's Turn

Despite being cleaved straight down the middle by Sandy, this tree is still going strong!


The stuff at the foot of the tree is for another post. So, check back often! :)

Meanwhile, just enjoy the richness of these beauties!

And oh! the scent!

Up close and personal!

And then, on the very same tree, the left hand side branches were carrying this variegated version of the flower!

I couldn't help but bring some in. I know they wont last long. But, I couldn't help myself.

And here is some scientific stuff on the mysterious Ms Lilac and how to try to prolong the bouquet.

Oh and that vase. Ah well... that is another post altogether!

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Pink Snow Showers!

I suppose if you bloom like this

You will have to eventually shed like this

  and like this:

and like this:

I am glad that despite suffering some damage from Sandy, this tree was all happy to see spring again!

Happy May and Happy Mother's Day everyone!

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Cinder Block Bench -- 2

Remember the cinder block bench I constructed last year? Here is a link.
I made another one today, but a little different looking. This time, I used no capstone, just 4 cinder blocks and two posts for the bench.

All I did was to stack one cinder block vertically over a horizontally placed cinder block and insert the two posts through the holes. Of course, I do need to work on clearing up the area near and around the bench.

Located under this lovely cherry tree.

The cherry tree

Here are links to other cinder block benches in the web:
http://kaylasbasement.blogspot.com/2012/06/diy-outdoor-bench.html

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Black Bean Beetroot Chocolate Brownie -- Dracula's Wedding Cake

Guess what? Blogspot's decided to allow me to post pics again! Whoo-hoo!
So the blogiverse has been abuzz with black bean-beetroot brownies. This is my version of it.

It has such an interesting color, I might even call it Dracula's wedding cake and serve it for Halloween!

The Ingredients:

• 3 cups cooked black beans
• 2 cups roasted beets (peeled)
• 8.3 oz (slightly less than this, actually) dark chocolate bar (I used 72% pound plus from Trader Joes and nearly used half a bar) melted.
• 3 eggs
• 2 Tbsp cacao nibs
• 4 Tbsp stevia powder
• Handful of chocolate chips (optional)

The Method:

• I already had roasted beets in the freezer. If you are going to roast them afresh for this recipe, just heat the oven to about 350F, take a pan with a little water in it and add your beets in them. Plop it in the oven for about an hour. The beets are done when the skin looks all wrinkled and a fork will go through it easily
• Remove from oven, let cool and peel it. 
• Pre-heat the oven to 350F
• Take 3 cups of black beans (pre cooked-- preferably in a pressure cooker until soft) put in a blender and blend until it looks like smooth hummus
• Remove it from blender and blend the beets the same way (without water) with the cacao nibs.
• Transfer both pulps to a bowl and break three eggs into it. Mix well.
• Add stevia and mix well.
• Melt the chocolate in a bowl in the microwave -- I just used my microwave setting for melting chocolate and it came out fine.
• Dribble the molten chocolate into the "batter" and mix well again.
• Taste and see if you need more sweetness. If you do, add more stevia. 
• Line a square baking tray with wax paper or grease it.
• Transfer the batter into the tray and bake for 40 mins.
• Remove the brownie and let cool.

Notes:

• The above method left the brownie a little dry. I might add some butter (about 1/2 cup may be) in future.

References:

• http://www.neverhomemaker.com/2013/02/red-velvet-black-bean-brownies.html

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