Posts tagged diy

Sorry for the hiatus, I’ve been lazy busy.

So, a couple times a year, we throw a big get-together (Halloween, someone’s birthday, end of summer, really any excuse to cook a ton and put up pretty lights). For drinks, I ditch the Solo cup and opt for its classy, eco-friendly, and pinterest-ey cousin, the Mason Jar.

Yeah, drinking out of jars is cool now, doesn’t that rock?

Before realizing what a total waste of time it was, I used to make new drink labels for each party:

Labeling drinks ensures that a) people don’t mix up their drinks and b) at the end of the night, you know that it was Matt who left his drink in your mailbox (wtf, Matt?)

To save on time and paper, I decided to make reusable chalkboard labels, using:

• Mini clothespins* — $1.99 for 25
• Chalkstock  — $1.99 for 10 sheets, which makes 20 labels
• Some twine (okay fine, it’s hemp leftover from my hippie stage, but it works the same!) cut into about 16” lengths. Measure around the rim and give a little extra.
• Scissors
• Mason Jars
• Chalk

1. Cut chalkstock in half. Snip corner into cute tag shape, or some other design if you’re more skilled than me (not a high bar).
2. Tie twine around lip of jar and using pin, attach label.
3. Have guests chalk their names/initials.

*Mini clothespins? How frackin’ cute are those?

And on to the other purpose of this post. Simone over at JungleFrog Cooking is running another photography challenge: drinks or food in a glass. This drink is just a bit of hibiscus tea, made primarily because of its gorgeous color.

I did exactly what Simone said not to do. She highly recommended shooting backlit to better illuminate the liquid. But when your only light source is a window and your “studio” is a table in a tiny, tiny kitchen, you kind of have to take whatever light you can get.

This contest runs through November if you’re thinking about entering. Plus, she’s always got something neat brewing over there.

Who’s HP, you ask? I think you know. He comes to all my parties. It’s ballin’

Wow, I’m sad…

Sir Jantee: Bribe? That word is offensive to mine ears. We are English to the bone! Our word is our bond. Besides what could you possibly bribe us with?
Chamberlain: Butter.
Sir Jantee: Oh yes there is that.

Cool fact—I originally wanted to name this blog “ButterBlog” but it was taken. That is how much I love butter. A lot.

I’ll take any butter that I can get, but I especially love it homemade. Making your own isn’t super practical if you cook with loads of butter, but if you just want a small amount for a nice brunch, or have a recipe that calls for buttermilk, or just want to feel all pioneer-ey, give it a go.

All you need is heavy cream and an electric beater. Oh and salt if you want. I’d wager you could make it in the blender or a food processor, but I can’t vouch for it.

Pour your cream (cold) into a large bowl. Start whipping on high.

Soft and then hard peaks will form. If you were making whipped cream, you’d sweeten it a bit and stop here. But you’re making fatty yummy butter, so keep going. 

It’ll start to look like this, keep going. Eventually the fat solids will separate from the buttermilk and it’ll “break”—the coolest part.

Once you see liquid at the bottom of the bowl, you’re there. Stop beating. Use a rubber spatula to sort of corral the fat solids together.

You can strain the liquid, but I just pour it off and save it (that’s the buttermilk, DO NOT just toss it—you can make loads of tasty things with it).

Voila, left with butter (mostly). With a rubber spatula, press out as much remaining buttermilk as you can that’s hiding in the fat solids. Now is when you’d sprinkle in some salt if you want.

This isn’t as important if you plan on eating the butter within the week. If you want it to last longer, then you want to drain off as much buttermilk as possible, or it’ll spoil.

Wrap in wax paper and store in the fridge (or freezer). Its shelf life depends on how much buttermilk you leave in the butter. Generally, don’t make more than you’ll use in a week.

Eat—on everything.

Homemade Butter
Makes about 2/3 cups of butter

• Heavy cream (I generally use about 1 pint) (extra points if you skim your own from raw milk)
• A large bowl and an electric beater/mixer
• Salt to taste

1. Beat cream on high until fat solids separate from buttermilk. Drain off the buttermilk from the fat solids. Salt.
2. Wrap in wax paper
3. EAT.