Monday, August 6, 2012

I did it! Pinterest ideas


Last week was insane. All four of us caught a nasty stomach virus that has been going around, and then we had to work like crazy to get our house ready for a fifth person to move in for a while. My sister in law is staying with us until she finds a place to live here. Our house isn't made for five people, so we had a lot of work to do. I had also been trying to organize our pantry, both because it needed it and to check all labels for food dyes. I had seen an idea on Pinterest, using magazine files to hold the aluminum foil/plastic wrap/etc boxes in the pantry, and thought it was really smart. I took it a step further, and used Command adhesive strips to mount them on the cabinet door. It works! It's so much easier to see what we have now, and to access the boxes. I discovered while doing this that I had an empty box of waxed paper in the cabinet (gone now) and two partial boxes each of two different sized zipper bags! I combined the boxes and gained even more room that way. I couldn't see all that when they were on a shelf.


I also tried another idea, although I didn't take a picture of this one. Instead of putting them in the dryer, we hang swimsuits and bras over the shower rod to dry. Also wet towels after swimming get tossed up there. I've been redoing our bathroom a little at a time, and when I installed the pretty new shower rod and hooks, I moved the old one to the back of the shower. It's high enough to not interfere with showering, and no drips on the floor!

I also made hummus for the first time last night. I found this recipe on Pinterest, and knew from my pantry cleaning that I had a can of chickpeas. It looked easy enough, and how hard could tahini be? I found a can of it at Fresh Market, and picked up a lemon. Everything else I had on hand already. I put the drained beans and lemon juice in the blender, and then opened the tahini. It was not what I expected. The top half was liquid, and the bottom half was a HARD solid mass. The label said that separation is normal, and to stir thoroughly before using.

Right.


I tried stirring, and bent the spoon. I scraped the stuff into a big mixing bowl (the can was not big enough for proper stirring) and attacked it with a wooden spoon. Then a meat pounder. The liquid did turn the proper color, but there were many stubborn lumps that I just couldn't get out. And the solid part was STICKY. I finally emptied the beans and lemon juice from the blender into a bowl and put the tahini in the blender to mix. That worked! I poured it back into the can, and the rest went smoothly. Beans and juice back in the blender, followed by 2 tbsp of tahini. The recipe said 2-3, and I guessed there was about a tablespoon still in the bottom of the blender, so I improvised. Added in the cumin, garlic, and the reserved bean juice, and pureed until smooth.

I tasted the hummus as I was putting it into a container, and was very disappointed. It was quite bland. I packed some for lunch, though, and it was much better. The flavors just needed time to blend together. Now that I know what I'm doing, I'll definitely make this again!

And just for fun, a picture of Sophie brushing her teeth, all by herself. Notice where she's standing to reach. This would be perfect if she could get back down by herself. I just love her cute little toddler legs!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

12 comments:

  1. If you like garlic, that adds a lot of flavor. I always roast it, then add it to the mix. :-)

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  2. If you like garlic, that adds a lot of flavor. I always roast it, then add it to the mix. :-)

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  3. What size/type command strips did you use? Great idea!

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    1. I just used the regular 2 1/2 inch strips, but 3 on each magazine file, two at the bottom and one on the tall part of the file. They are still holding great!

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    2. Hi! I pinned this too and just bought the files but as a european I don´t know what a command strips are! I was worried about screwing the files into my new cabinet fronts so another solution is a very good idea!Thank you for sharing isn´t Pintrest just a fab idea?

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    3. Hi Christine- Are the command strips still holding?! Just wondering w/ putting a roll of heavy foil in there if it really is strong enough. Love the idea.

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    4. Hi Christine- Just wondering if the Command Strips are still holding? Love the idea, but wonder if they'll hold things like a roll of Heavy Foil for any length of time. Thanks

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    5. Yes! They have not even loosened.

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  4. I use a knife and cut through that stubborn hard mass at the bottom of the jar of tahini. Much easier to break it up.
    Great idea using the command strips rather than screws on the magazine files.

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  5. My tahini is quite runny (but maybe it's because it's summer now and hot). You're right to say that homemade hummus tastes blander than the commercial one (it's a question of getting used to it too!) I find I had a lot of salt to it... but then realise it's probably not as much as is in a supermarket pot anyway, so it's ok (and a very good olive oil will also add to the flavour). I agree that garlic is a must to make it extra special. I never buy hummus anymore. EVER (and I'm a junk food addict normally).

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  6. How many command strips and what size? This is such a clever idea. I do not have a lot of kitchen storage. Thank you

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    Replies
    1. I just used the regular 2 1/2 inch strips, but 3 on each magazine file, two at the bottom and one on the tall part of the file. They are still holding great!

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