Stove Top Stories: What Not to Do and How to Fix It

In the event that you should have two stove top disasters in the same week, this posts for you.

I guess I should confess, I have thorn in my flesh; a constant issue in which I never seem to learn. In spite of my mom's advice to never set things on the stove, I have a tendency to burn things that shouldn't be cooked. Exhibit # 4583.

It all started one summer after sixth grade while making Crispy Treats. I placed a large plastic cereal container on top of a wrongly set coil burner.  When I lifted the container to pour the cereal, it all fell out of the bottom instead. I was so distraught I called my friend in a teary panic to come help me clean the burner. She saved the day, and I hid the evidence  my mom never knew.

Our microwave sits above the flat-top stove. On Monday I accidentally overcooked my eyebrow wax (which I also use to remove the mustache and chin whiskers that magically appeared on my 40th birthday.) When I pulled the cup of hot wax out of the microwave it spilled all over the cook top, leaving a big puddle, and lots of splatter. I don't know if you've ever used this wax, but it is stickier than tree sap, and is four-times as thick. I was worried.

The first thing I did was... wax my eyebrows, one has priorities when it comes to unsightly facial hair. 

The second thing I did was the phone-a-friend of the 21st Century: I Googled "How to remove eyebrow wax from cook top," which didn't bring anything up. Amazingly,  I couldn't find another blogger who was silly enough to make the same mistake, and then post it to her blog. But I did find that most facial waxes can be broken down with a little oil. So I took some Canola and poured it right on the cook top. Then I took my heavy-duty, non-scratch, scrub sponge and scrubbed like my mother was on her way home. I did have to use my fingers to rub down the parts that were really thick. Then I wiped the oil off with several paper towels, sprayed the top down with cook-top cleaner, and everything was good....

Until... I decided to make chicken for dinner two days later.

The Girl had decided she was going to make herself an omelet for breakfast. As she was finishing up, I decided to defrost some chicken for dinner later that night. My thawing method has always been: take a few pieces out, place in plastic freezer bag, add marinade, cook later.

Amazingly, plastic bags burn very quickly, and its hard to clean up a scorching stove. After it cooled I thought I could just peel the plastic off, but it wasn't so easy. I used a combination of scraping with a butter knife, scrubbing with the sponge, and turning the heat on for a second or two to soften, but not melt, the plastic. It was considerably more elbow work than the wax, but after I used the cleaning spray, it was as good as new.

Hopefully this will be my last post on burning plastic on the stove top... but we all know it won't.

And, if you've found this post because you are in the same situation...Good Luck!

June Morning and Other Sundry Things

7:35 a.m. - This June day... overcast and misty, growing calescent before the rising sun. The damp brings to mind  Seattle, with a hot southern twist. The greens, bold and vibrant; the browns, harmony.  On days like today I still pinch myself as I walk through our little acre. Who knew that a desert dweller like me would someday make the piney woods her home? Seriously, those beautiful trees are in my back yard.  I get to look at them every day. And on days like today, all dewy and warm, the forest is in her glory.

Though last week the temps were rising, the summer has (so far) been mild. My garden has taken a leisurely pace in production. Normally, I'm picking produce by the boxful this time of year, but there are signs of bounty: tomato blossom and cucumber bloom announce the coming goodness.

But the weeds, they're good and faithful, rain or shine.

We found a secret flower growing in our yard. Tucked between the front hedge and the side of the house lives a lonely lilly; crimson and yellow. She's beautiful, and happy, all by herself... how she got there, we'll never know.

Ah, June, how lovely you are...

Poolside Ponderings

The pool is not very busy this morning, so I'll probably get some time to read.

Sometimes I feel bad about reading at the pool while all those young mom's chase their little one's. I remember being there...

Though I really did enjoy swimming with the kids, I couldn't help feeling just a little covetous of the mom who could actually read something while her charges ran virtually unsupervised. I know you've seen her, she's the one who walked through the pool gate without five heavy bags of floaties, swim diapers, sunscreen, pool toys and snacks upon her shoulders. She's the one who laid her fluffy, spa-like, beach towel (void of any cartoon character) upon her lounge and sipped on an ice cold Diet Coke, without having to share. I don't know if you noticed, but the bottom of her bathing suit isn't shredded from sitting on the edge of the pool. She probably goes to the bathroom alone too.

Yes, I envied her, my rosy glasses all askew.

Somehow, in a whirlwind of seasons and change flown in on a wing and a prayer, I've become her, that woman I thought so lucky back then. Who knew that a decade comes in measured days, and hurried years? And here I am: My towel more Target-clearance than spa-like. This side of the lounge feels different than I assumed it would be. It's not at all bad (I really enjoy my teenagers), but it isn't as romantic either.

I'll admit, that first summer I realized I could sit poolside and read was pretty awesome. It was nice to be able to relax; to let my guard down (just a bit) when I knew my children would be wise about water safety. But truthfully, it can be a lonely place as well. What I failed to realize was my years of being in the pool, would be far less than the years I'd sit out.

Here's the thing, when you've got little ones, there is always another busy mama to chat with poolside, even if the conversations are in fits and starts. Young children bring women together. You've got sisters to congratulate and commiserate with; there's a knowledge that you're tired, but you're not alone.

When you get to my stage of the parenthood game, most moms don't stick around. They drop the kids off and run. Occasionally, I do this too, but my preference is to be there as much as I can. The teenage world of string bikinis and hormones makes the Chaperone in me content to stay. But the People Person in me is learning to enjoy the (reading) time alone when my friends cannot stay.

So, if could go back 10 years and give myself some advice I guess I'd say: Kellie, the pool isn't any clearer on the other side of the deck. Enjoy this exhausting time of chasing children, because the summers aren't many, and go all too soon. There will be plenty of time for poolside reading, more than you'll ever need.

Summer Came

The silence is delicious this morning. The teenagers of The Little House in the Woods are sleeping, and I'm enjoying breakfast upstairs in my quiet place.

I'm nursing a head cold that came on fast and furious this week, but its been a good opportunity to slow down a bit. Life gets ridiculously crazy at the end of the school year; for some reason forced rest is always a good reminder for me. I get caught up in the rat race and forget that rest is just as important as activity... maybe even more important.

Summer has finally come (though the waiting seemed so long); and around here it really is all about rest, even if an active rest.

Each year there are five happy things that mark the start of summer:

1. Sitting on the front porch, right before bedtime, and watching the lightening bugs put on a show.

2. Homemade Mint Limeade


3. Popsicles with jokes on the sticks.


4. Swim season. That magical time of year when the Summer People come out to play. Summer People are those other families that go to our pool. Nine months out of the year we don't see each other. It's like we don't even live in the same town. Around Memorial Day we gather again, admiring new babies and how big the kids have grown. Then we find our lounge chair, pull out our summer snacks, and visit contentedly until Labor Day.

5. The Bubba Keg: 52 oz of ice cold goodness.

Back in San Antonio, TX, in the summer of '97, I was heavily pregnant with my oldest. My beverage of choice was water, and it had to be ICE cold. My problem was night time; I would wake up parched, and drinking room-temperature water was assault to my pregnant palette.


If you can imagine, this was a time when insulated bottles were virtually non-existent (actually, they were around...we called them a thermos but they were for HOT drinks, right?) and I had devised all sorts of ways to keep my extra large plastic cup ice cold all night, to no avail. Life was tough back then.

One magnificent day, The Mister came home with the Bubba Keg. While he was filling his tank at the gas station, he saw it in the store window and knew it was the answer to all his my problems. He is still an excellent problem solver to this day; and I love that Bubba Keg about half as much as I love him... which is way more than words can say.

So, summer is in full swing in the Piney Woods, I couldn't be happier its here.

{lifting the Bubba Keg} May your summer be the perfect combination of rest and fun...

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

As if banana bread needed to be improved upon, I have a new recipe.

Actually, its my standard banana bread recipe, written on an old blue note card in scratchy script. I've actually got it memorized, but I always pull out the card anyway. Very rarely do I change up the ingredients, aside from a handful (or two) of chocolate chips, when the whimsy calls.

However, I've managed to give birth to a girl that somehow did not get the loves-banana-bread gene. Which is really odd, since it's a dominant trait in the line of my people...there isn't a sweet bread alive in which we'd turn up our noses. So, you can imagine how I've tried to turn that sweet girl over to our bread lovin' generation. But, for thirteen years she has politely declined.

Until now...

A couple weeks ago I decided to change up the standard recipe by decreasing the flour by 1/4 cup and replacing it with cocoa powder, and throwing in several handfuls of chocolate chips. Never underestimate the power of chocolate. 

I am proud to tell you that she not only likes this bread, but eats it readily. This isn't just one those things she'll eat when there is "nothing good to eat in the house." Oh, and making them into muffins is helpful too. It doesn't matter how old you are, its hard to resist a muffin; and the baking time is cut in half compared to a loaf.

Here's the recipe:

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Banana Muffins

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2-3 ripe bananas*
1tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour**
1/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (use more or less to your liking)


Preheat oven to 350 and place cupcake holders in tin. Cream butter and sugar together. Add salt, soda, vanilla, banana and eggs. Mix well. Add cocoa and flour, mix until fluffy. Stir in chips. Scoop batter evenly into prepared tin.

Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

*You can pre-smash the bananas, but I don't... I just throw them in!
** Don't let the idea of whole wheat throw you off. I use this whole wheat white flour, which is white wheat, instead of red... giving you all the benefits of whole wheat with lighter flavor and texture. You really cannot tell the difference in this recipe.


Enjoy!

Five on Friday: All Things Lovely

1. Fresh flowers in my kitchen.

2. English Lavender in the garden.

3. Learning something new.

4. Powerful creatures with gentle dispositions. 

5. Scenic drives along the way.

Happy Friday...

Crocheted T-shirt Basket

The people of the Little Yellow House on the Hill are afraid. 

I've learned how to cut T-shirts into one continuous strip of yarn, and now... no shirt is sacred. 

As I mentioned in a previous post, I did start the Russian Rug, but I didn't love how it was hooking up. It's very simple, but I think I need different colored shirts; and I think they need to be cut into wider strips. So I put that project on hold and decided to try my hand at a little basket making. 

I found a great (free) pattern online. The directions are easy and the pictures are helpful. 

I ran out of white yarn, so I had to switch to blue. I was surprised how much yarn this project consumed. The white part alone was three (xtra large) shirts and the blue handle is one (medium) shirt.

It was a quick and easy project, taking only a couple hours start to finish, but was physically demanding. Using a smaller hook (10mm) for the yarn size, made it very difficult to move the hook with ease. After I finished, my hands and some random muscle deep within my upper right arm, were sore for two days. If I hadn't had to fight the hook this basket would have stitched up in less than an hour. Having to work that hard made the project a little less enjoyable. One of the benefits of crochet is that it's relaxing... running the hook through the yarn with repetitive ease is good for what ails you. I didn't love the cardio by crochet method this project required. Although... maybe I should start a new extreme exercise fad.

With that said, until I can get some T-shirts in colors I like for the Russian Rug, I was thinking I might try my hand at this Mandala Floor Rug. It's also made with T-shirt yarn, but a 15mm hook, and a weave that doesn't look quite as tight might not make it so cumbersome. Maybe crocheting with super bulky yarn is like giving birth... your forget about the pain when the hard work is over, and the next beautiful project overrides your fear. Maybe...