pecan pie must die

first and foremost.  hope everyone had a happy valentines day. we sure did.

ribs, sweet potato, and trader joes frugal joe's light beer.  we intended on having dessert, but we got distracted with a not-so great chick flick.  dear john.  any thoughts?  the ending was blah.

yesterday also marked the tenth anniversary the first date i had with my husband.  i have been with him for a third of my entire life.  i can't seem to find a picture of us back in the day, but this should suffice.  this is the summer after we started dating.

my hunk.

well, i'm just going to dive right in.

this past summer i had the displeasure of having a slice of authentic pecan pie.  i say authentic, but what i mean is that is was made by a real southern lady.  she may have very well butchered the recipe, which may have been the case.  it was so sweet, i could have sworn all my teeth were going to fall out over night.

and i like sweet things.

i love pecans.  the way they smell after roasting them for a few minutes is incredible.  so, i was utterly disappointed how this woman butchered my beloved nuts.  (i'm trying to contain the school girl giggles).

thankfully, i have my go-to recipe for an amazing pecan dessert.  it was one that i had used when i had my dessert cafe. it was my best-seller, by far.  one of my favorite customers was from georgia, he liked this better than the "beloved"...barf...pecan pie.

caramel. pecan. tart.

what a better reason to make this than friends coming together that have been separated by time zones.  our dear friends kyle and michele came to jersey for official work, but glad they were able to fit us into their busy schedule.  hubby was his best man for their wedding last year and dd was the sweetest little flower girl.  special people get special desserts.

first, you need pecans*.  two and a half cups of them coarsely chopped.

scatter them on a jelly-roll sheet.  bake in the oven for five to eight minutes at 350° .

while they are cooling down, you can make your crust.  the crust is basically a shortbread.  and when there's shortbread...there's butter!!!  (just be sure that your butter is NOT room temp.)

two cups flour.
two thirds cup powdered sugar.
one and a half cups butter.

flour in.  powdered sugar in. butter in.

as you can see, i attempted to use a pastry blender, but i gave up and threw it all in my food processor.  a food processor will make this job much easier and give it consistent texture.  be sure to use the pulse function.

the mixture will look like course meal.  i even throw it in the fridge for a few minutes to make sure the butter does not get the least bit soft.

dump the meal into an eleven inch tart pan.

spread it around. i like to do the sides first.  this recipe make more than enough crust to go around.

once the meal is spread out to the sides, pull it up the sides and press so that it stays in place.

do this all the way around the pan.

with all the extra meal, spread it so that it covers evenly on the bottom.

then start pressing.

i prefer to place the tart pan on a cookie sheet while in the oven.  i have grabbed the pan one too many times and have created a hot mess when the pan pieces separate.

place the crust in the oven for fifteen minutes.  or just until it become light brown along the edges.

while the crust is baking, we can prep the filling.

two thirds cup of butter.
half a cup of honey.
half a cup of packed brown sugar.

in a 2.5 quart saucepan heat the ingredients on medium heat.  stirring frequently.

once it has become a consistent mixture.  add three tablespoons of heavy cream.

stir some more.

add pecans.  stir it up to coat all pecans.

the crust should be done by now.

let the crust cool for a few minutes.

pour in the mixture and spread out with a spatula.  be gentle though, the crust is tender.

pop the tart in the oven for twenty minutes or until the caramel is bubbling all around the pan.

let pan sit out to cool completely.

and there you have it, folks.  doesn't it look pretty.

my picture is shoddy...someone's shutter speed was a little too slow...maybe because $hellbug needs to replace fifty percent of the lightbulbs in her dining room.  just maybe.

let me know how it works out for you.

here's the southern living link where i got the recipe.

thanks for stopping by!

jill


*i have substituted walnuts when i would run out.  it was still good, but the pecans are much better.

gleeks unite!

i'm a gleek.  
but i bite my nails.

fail.

are you a gleek?

i'm light green

go green.

ughh.  i hate that phrase.  i went to an agricultural school and when i think of "being green" i think of all the dirty hippies and their nasty dreadlocks on campus trying to convince me to follow in banning di-hydrogen monoxide and the fight to save the northwest tree octopus.

i hate to sound selfish, but what has a northwest tree octopus done for me lately?!?!  hmmm...  

i've done my share of "saving the earth."  i worked for a beneficial insect lab back in the day when i cared about all the wrong things.  i cared that the native new jersey cattails where being taken over by, what i happen to think is much prettier, purple loosestrife.

so, like a sucker i helped in the rearing (keep the giggles to yourself) of thousands of beneficial beetles.  i wish i had some pics of when i was working there.  the idea is cool, but seriously there are kids starving everyday.  i'd rather see the money feed and clothe children.  (i know, much easier said than done, but can you see where my heart is?)

between all of the daily chores and taking care of the kiddos my efforts to go green have to be simple and to the point.  

some of the things that i have done/changed:

- i drive slower.  

not to be confused with slow.  remember i'm in jersey.  you get killed for going the speed limit.

- i use natural cleaners.  

think seventh generation. vinegar. method.  

seventh generation thyme and lemongrass multi-purpose cleaner does a fantastic job.  did i mention it smells awesome?  however, it is a little weird for my bathroom to smell like thyme.  

vinegar is excellent for cleaning the tile in between your grout.  if you can stand the smell, give it a try.

- i buy transformed products. 

for christmas this year i stuffed our stockings with toothbrushes made from plastic #5.  the idea is to send the toothbrush back to the company in the package it came in.  not sure if i'm ready to think of all the mouths my toothbrush has been in.  or toilet bowls it has cleaned.  

yeah, i just went there.  sorry.

apparently many recycling centers don't take #5.  it is a much lighter plastic that many food manufacturing companies prefer to use.  yogurt, margarine, sour cream type containers are what i'm talking about.  if you have a whole foods near you, they may have a bin you can throw your #5 plastics in.   i like this idea more than the toothbrush idea.

- i use bath towels for rags.

the ones i have are seriously old.  one by one, i have been cutting them up into squares perfect for cleaning up spills, dusting, wiping up tiny fingers prints.  don't get me wrong, i still use paper towels, but i have been able to cut back on using them tremendously by having rags handy.

now can you see why i am just light green.  nothing too crazy, but i feel like i'm doing something to contribute to having a healthier planet.

every little bit helps.

what are some ways you try to be green?

thanks for stopping by,

jill

bathroom blahs

our condo is approximately the same age as myself.  although i am by no means a fashionista, i know that it would be tacky to carry over the same style clothing/hair as they did nearly thirty years ago.

apparently my bathroom never got the memo.

same cream colored vanity.  sink.  tub.  tile.  same....well, everything.  it is the equivalent of
anything having to do with the 80's.

...ok, not that bad.

but still, i hate it.  i have hated it since we bough this place four years ago.  i just got used to it and it just started blending in.  it hasn't been until recently that we have decided to remodel the bathrooms.  we will be moving in a few months, so updating the place will be great practice for when we move into our new home.

we just had a leak coming from the sink valve so no time has been more perfect than now to upgrade.  (plus, we bought two vanities that were on sale the week before from hd.)  seriously, the timing is uncanny.

see what i mean, the eighties  condo special.  the bathtub is fiberglass.  can you believe the people from bath fitter quoted me $4,600 for an acrylic tub and wall?!?!  true story.  and that's with a $500 discount!  with my best jersey accent, "i don't think so!"

who ever puts caulk over grout needs to be brought out back and [ fill in the blank ].

the large mirror was nice when i needed to see where to put lotion on my hidden stretch marks on the pregnant belly.

just a different angle of the caulked/grout floor.

the large and EXTREMELY heavy boxes are cramping my style.  

 

here's what's inside.  

i'm excited to see what we'll be doing in here.  my husband is probably the smartest person i know and i'm not saying that because i'm biased.  he really is.  we had organic chemistry together back when we were in college.  he never studied, but always seemed to make me look incredibly dumb even when i spent days studying.  the point i'm getting at is that he can figure anything out.  plumbing, electrical, automotive...he just has a knack for handy work.  plus, he is a perfectionist.  to the point of it being annoying.  so, i know whatever we chose to do in the bathroom and in our future home, he will do an amazing job.

we have neighbors downstairs who are currently upgrading their bathroom, as well.  they are using a company called "the handymen."  they will do anything for $200 a day plus whatever materials you need.  we were thinking about having them tear down everything in the bathroom so we don't have to.  time is important to us right now, so for us to spend a few days tearing everything down and cleaning up is well worth the $200 a day.

perfect timing, again.  chicken nugget just woke up.

thanks for stopping by!

jill

things that don't mix

oil and vinegar:

emotions and wine:

"This wine is too good for toast-drinking, my dear.
You don't want to mix emotions up with a wine like that.
You lose the taste."— Ernest Hemingway

will ferrell and drama:

(not to mention syrup and spaghetti.  barfaroni.)

you ask, where the heck are you going with this.  (be patient, i have a point.)

it's been nearly ten years since i last ran.  i used to run in college, but quit after stress fractures tore my shins up.  

at the time, i was happy to give it up.  the training was intense.  the time commitment made it a challenge with school.  plus, my coach was kind of a d-bag.  

there have been years that have gone by where i probably didn't run a single mile at any one time.  huge change to the ten plus mile training runs each day that i was accustomed to.  

however, i miss it so much.  first of all, i don't feel healthy.  i am, by no means, a large person.  i'll tell people i feel out of shape and they look at me like "are you nuts!"  yeah i look thin, but i am soooo out of shape.  my butt jiggles when i run.  it scares me.  

second thing i miss is beating people.  i'm not really competitive.  but, there is nothing like beating someone in a race that makes me smile. winning is awesome, i'm not gunna lie.

a girlfriend of mine asked me to sign up for the nyc half-marathon, last june.  i really didn't think we'd make the lottery, so i didn't train while it was warm.  sure enough, i got in.  

i thought to myself, i'll just start training january first.  which i did, then i got sick.  then it snowed, a lot.  then i got sick again.  then it snowed four more times.  now i'm healthy.  but we have a crazy amount of snow.  five am runs in twenty degree weather sucks.  i'm really good at coming up with excuses (did i mention i'm losing my first toenail due to a blister and it hurts too much to run?!?!)  i know, poor me.

here's my point.  snow, kids, and training do not mix.   

i don't want to give up.  but, i'm not sure how well this race is going to pan out.  worst case senario:  i get picked up for running too slow.  

thank God, tomorrow is a new day.  i'm going to re-start my training.  

jill

waterless shampoo, are you kidding me?

anyone who has kids gets it.  sometimes us moms just don't get around to showering as often as we'd like.  just to keep it real,  i had a hard time even finding time to brush my teeth when chicken nugget was a newborn.  let alone take a shower.

but as you get creative with parenting you figure out ways to keep yourself semi-decent.  with my dd, i brought her into the shower with me when she was young enough to sit-up by herself.  with chicken nugget, i prefer to put him in a high chair with a mountain of fruity cheerios in the doorway of our bathroom.

i usually don't watch commercials.  everything we watch is on tivo.  but, somehow a commercial snuck in.  it was for tres semme waterless foaming shampoo.

although the idea of a waterless shampoo sounds genius.  i'm not so sure i buy it.  sounds like something that would make your already oily head of hair, oilier, but with a pleasant fruity scent.

would you try this?  have you already?

xoxo
jill

yeah, so what, i'm cheap.

cheap, thrifty, frugal.  same difference.  i actually prefer being called thrifty, it's the lesser of the three evils.  but, i'll accept all three.

it all began about eight years ago while my husband and i were living-in-sin back in our college days.  someone across the street from us left out a cute red bookcase.  i eyed it up all day.  under the cover of night, i made my future hubby snatch it up. back then i was ashamed of my curb-collecting.   today, i embrace it.  

ten years later our ugly little bookcase has made a comeback in our kids room.

my morning routine looks something like this:

turn on coffee maker

empty dishwasher

throw in a load of laundry

open blinds

check out dumpster to see what people have left out.

i'm not kidding.  

we currently live in a condo and have a straight shot view of the two garbage areas. because we have so many other people here, i can not wait until the cover of night to grab such treasures.  you snooze, you lose. 

plus, i don't care what my neighbors think about my junk picking.  jesus loves me and my thriftiness.

somewhere in my mix of 10,000 pictures i will find the shot of the original yellow shelf that i painted khaki.  i really had no idea what i needed to do to refinish/paint something.  i just went to the "five-dollar oooops rack" at lowes and picked out the least obnoxious color.  besides wiping it down, i did nothing else to prep.  so far my paint job has held up well.  

exhibit number three.  there was nothing that needed to be done to this.  it seemed brand new.  not sure why someone would just put this out there.  but they did and i thank them for it.  plus, it matches my dining room table.  

same here.  someone left out two perfectly good patio chairs.  the cushions they had on them left much to be desired. those stayed behind at the dumpster.  this is brutal winter number four for them.  they hold up well without covers.  

this bad boy is going to require some work.  the paint job on here is terrible.  but, i know once we move into our new home in june these will be the kind of things i can do even in the winter.  having a garage is going to be awesome.  but, for now, it will have to wait.  

the english dovetails were a nice surprise.  they are known for being quite sturdy.  

i picked this up a few months ago from the east facing dumpster.  and just to clarify this, i don't actually go into a dumpster...i'm not that gross.  but, i will pick up the things placed outside of it.  the only time you will find me in an actual dumpster is if i accidentally throw my car keys in as i throw in a bag of garbage.  the thought crosses my mind often, which is why i am super diligent about putting my keys in my pocket before i chuck the bags. 

danish modern.  yes, no?!?!  not sure what i would like to do with it.  

wood furniture stamping says to me, "i am not made in china." or "i am not particle board wood."

chicken nugget thinks i should turn this into a jungle gym.
my daughter is a girl after my own heart.  look at her clean up the milk.

this piece i got off of craigslist.  it should have been free.  but i was young in my search for junk and i actually paid ten dollars for it.  i wanted to try crackling it, but i got pregnant.  so...i left it as is.  as for now the purpose of this piece is obvious.  

my girlfriend, $hellbug, has a gift for design.  her house is put together so nicely.  she finds things, mostly vintage, and incorporates them into her home.  

she came with me to drop off a three-tiered birthday cake i made for a customer.  on the way there, we passed through a town called rocky hill.  george washington even passed through, at one time.  there were a bunch of garage sales going on, but what caught our eye was the pile of junk on the side of the road someone left for the taking.  

if we could, we would have stopped right then and there.  but i wanted that cake out of my car.  driving with a tiered cake...another topic for another day.  

i got dibs on the radio flyer and the old soap box.

the radio flyer has been on the porch of the condo below us.  no one has been living there for months.  it shall stay there until we move.  i plan on using it to plant flowers in.  $hellbug's idea.  gotto give credit when credit is due.

i am just going to take the sides off of the box with the company logo.  put them on a shelf or something.  maybe hang it on the wall?

i have a friend in town that is from buffalo, ny.  i think she'd appreciate this little bit of b'lo paraphernalia.  

here's  a picture of the hot mess $hellbug took for me.   man, did this make an awful ruckus on the way home!  they were all held up on tiny little hooks.  every turn we took, bump we went over, pothole i hit sent dozens flying off each time.  by the time we got back, half of them fell off.  i'm still finding stragglers in my car.  

i'll work on getting some of those projects started...can't promise i'll get them finished, though.

thanks for stopping by.

jill