Making Butter

I just upgraded my old KitchenAid  mixer with this super-duper model.  I went to YouTube to get some ideas and came upon this video on making homemade butter.  I decided to give it a whirl and it turned out to be such a FUN experiment.  

First thing, I bought heavy whipping cream, and decided on all natural, organic cream.  I put 2 cups in my glass bowl with the normal beater attachment.

Next, I slowly started beating it, and increased the speed to the highest setting.  WARNING, (live and learn) put the splatter guard or a towel over the bowl to keep it from spraying the entire kitchen.  This is the stage where you can add salt, herbs, or garlic, or other spices for a variety of flavors.

The first stage of this process, the cream turns in to whipped cream texture.  This is where you would normally add sugar and vanilla to make a dessert.  Don't stop here though...

The next stage, after about 5 minutes, when the cream starts turning to a solid, all of a sudden a watery substance separates from the solids.  Guess what?  That is BUTTERMILK!  Stop the mixer and pour off this buttermilk, but don't discard, use it for another recipe.  I actually made mashed potatoes for a dinner party I was having and put it in the mashed potatoes. YUM.
After you drain the buttermilk, add some very cold ice water to the bowl and 'clean' the butter.  Spin it around a couple of times and pour off.  Repeat this process a couple or three times until the water is clear.

Final step: Scrape the butter off the paddle, and put butter in airtight container and store in fridge.  I can honestly say this is the best I have tasted and it is organic.  The whole process took about 15 minutes and was really fun.  

My friends were impressed when I served in on cute little butter pats I purchased off EBay.  

Weekend Project-
We have lived in this house for 8 years and I have always HATED my kitchen island.  It was a useless, worthless 3 x 3 piece of granite whose only purpose was to hold a decorative candle and a flower arrangement.  On Friday, I just decided I was going to Google/Pinterest some ideas and come up with a plan.  I love it when I get inspired to take on a new project, and I am NOT one to ponder and plan like most people do.  When I decide to do something, I jump right in.

Here is what I came up with and it took me about 8 hours of quality time to get the finished product. The rest of the weekend I spent running back to Lowe's or Home Depot to pick up an extra tool, stain, sandpaper, etc.  Thank GOODNESS, they are both within 5 miles from my home.

Here is the 'before' photo to show you exactly what I was dealing with...
The granite top weighs a TON, and I was not sure how I was going to lift it off.  Fortunately my neighbor's lawn guys showed up, so I sweet talked them in to coming over and carrying it out to my garage.  Perfect timing!

Early Saturday morning I headed to Home Depot with all my notes and list of items I would need to begin this project.

I told this Home Depot person what I was about to do and he stared at me for a moment, then said 'Ma'am,,,are you doing this yourself???'  (Little does he know....)

I had him cut 2 - 2"x8"x8' boards in half to measure exactly 48" long.  I made sure he knew to make allowance for the saw blade to take off a little more.  I have a saw at home and could easily have done this myself, but hey,,,Home Depot does not charge for cuts, and besides, it fits better in my Tahoe!

I made myself a shopping list before I headed to Home Depot, and decided, I might just need a new tool or two for my collection.  So, I bought my very own Router and band sander.  (I tend to walk the aisles in Home Depot like some folks like to do at the grocery store....I usually find something I 'can't live without'.  I LOVE that place!

....Oh,, and I bought me this really cool Pocket Jig.  I saw it when I was doing my research and decided it would fit nicely in my tool box. So easy to use and it adds a lot of stability when joining boards.

The Pocket Jig turned out to be VERY useful for this project.  I wanted to make sure that the planks stayed together snugly, and this was just the ticket.  I pre-drilled the holes in preparation for the part where I joined the boards.

Gorilla Glue....what can I say...I can say that whatever you put it on, you better be DARN sure that is where you want it..It is really strong!

Here are the boards all glued together and clamped tight with the bar clamps.  I have to let it dry for 24 hours to make sure it stays put.  Off to watch a movie now,,,besides I'm pooped!

Here are the pre-drilled holes from yesterday.  Now that the Gorilla Glue has dried I am adding the screws as an added measure to keep the boards together.

This is the underside of the counter top.  I decided this was a good place to experiment with stain colors, and practice the wood distressing methods I found on the web.

To make the wood look old and create 'worm holes', I used a strip of wood and randomly screwed in 5 screws in one end of the strip.  I slapped the stick all over the island top to make these holes.  

We had this huge chunk of chain out in the garage, so I pounded the wood to death to create really big dents. 

This is the handy-dandy new tool I bought for ME.  A Ryobi Router.  this is the coolest tool ever and very easy to use. It's amazing how this simple, relatively inexpensive tool can transform a piece of wood. 

This is me after using the router.  Who KNEW that the teenie-weenie wood shavings would  blow out all over me, the kitchen, the living room,,,,,OMG,,,what a MESS!!!  Note to self----next time, the router stays OUTSIDE!!  This stuff was stuck everywhere.

This is not the HALF of it.  Shavings were everywhere..Cleanup took longer than the entire table top project!

...but look at that really cool edge...it was worth the mess.

Here's a close up shot of the 'worm' holes and the chain dents. Can't wait to see this after it is stained.

This is the stain I opted to use after experimenting with a couple of other stain colors on the underside of the island top.  It still maintains the integrity of the oak, but does not overpower.  Besides, I already have dark cabinets, and dark hardwood flooring, so I wanted to bring in a little contrast.

This photo gives you an idea of the before and after effect of the stain.  I really like how the stain pulls out all the beautiful detail of the wood grain. I used a sponge brush to apply and then as soon as I completed applying to the first plank, went back with a soft rag and gently wiped it off.  The longer you let the stain set, the more it soaks in to the wood.

I love how the stain brings out the dents and the 'worm' holes. I was not sure how this was going to turn out, but I love it.

I took this before and after shot of the knot-hole to give you an idea how effective the staining process is. It really accentuates the beautiful details of the wood.

This is where I had to do a little more research.  Some of the sites I read mentioned that using glossy lacquer finishes might 'yellow' over time, not to mention that they might not be safe for food preparation.  I decided to go with a wipe-on butcher block oil finisher.  I wanted to keep the island top on the 'old' side so figured this was the best option.  Time will tell if I made the right decision, but hey...I have a fabulous sander and I can always go back and change it.

Here is the island top after the stain and butcher block oil.  The overhead lights give it an 'orange' cast, but the photo below is really more like it.  I just wanted you to see the overall look.

While the butcher block oil was soaking in, I took a trip to Pier 1 Import and found these darling woven barstools on sale.  They were floor samples so I got a really good deal and they are the perfect height for the island.  I love that I have a new intimate seating area for a casual meal.

So there you have it....This was by far, one of the most fun projects I have done.  I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner.  It makes a huge difference in my very small kitchen.  

Ode to Red Wine

www.facebook.com

I love cute little cocktail napkins.  Whenever I come across them I tend to buy a stash of them.  World Market has a great selection. Here are some of my favorites.

....say about 5:30 this afternoon maybe?...

Without a DOUBT!

I just don't have the heart to toss these...I'm sure I could cork an entire floor in my home.  This is only one stash.  I have a couple more. Fyi, you will see a lot of Noble Vine corks.  One of my all-time favorites is '337'.  It is rated 92 by Wine Spectator and it is generally under $10 per bottle.  Buy 6 and it is even less!  My kinda deal!

Oh,,,THOSE kind of glasses....Now I get it...

The first miracle in the Bible I must add...John 2:1-11  :)

 Need I say more??

This is one of our nightstands BEFORE I got my hands on it.  Our bed requires the aid of a footstool to hoist in to it.  The nightstand was so low, I had to find a way to get it higher to match the height of the bed.  Soo....... 

 

.....with a little help from Pinterest, a trip to Lowes, and some creative risks, I put together a plan to make this work.  

I had to figure out a way to attach the new 'legs' because the nightstand on Pinterest was not quite the challenge this one was.  They only had to screw the new legs in to the bottom of the existing legs.  Too easy~

I had to rig a way to attach some 1 x 4 boards to the bottom to have a foundation to put the brackets and the legs.

Once the foundation was in place, I screwed in the corner brackets that the legs screw in to.

Now what??  look at the ugly part where the new legs join the old part...ICK

Back to Lowes to get some decorative trim to cover up the 'ugly'.  I LOVE Gorilla Glue...If you ever use it, you better be darn sure of what you are gluing down...it will NOT come apart once it is set.

Now the fun part....If you have never used Annie Sloan chalk paint, you don't know what you are missing.  It is the most forgiving, slap-it-on paint you will ever use.  Be careful though.  Once you discover this paint you will want to paint everything in sight.

Here is the finished product.  It only took about 2 hours to do two nightstands and now it is much more functional.  Ta-daaaaa