My Picker Upper

When I am sad or having a horrid day, I watch my favorite commercial in the whole world :-)
To me this is a heart warming clip with genuine characters that don't look like actors. I simply love it.

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/tv/washington_lottery_birds

Rhubarb & Strawberry Pie

I am not a big fan of pies, but this one, I adore! The tartness of the rhubarb married with the sweetness of the strawberries... I'm drooling as I'm typing

Ingredients:
3 cups rhubarb stalks cut into 1/2 inch pieces, no leaves.
1 cup sliced strawberries
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp of all purpose flour (to thicken)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of grated orange or lemon peel (optional, but very good)
2 9 inch pie crusts. I used tenderflake frozen deep dish pie shells, and I'm not ashamed!

Instructions:
1- Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix the rhubarb and the strawberries with the sugar, flour, salt, and orange rind. Let sit while your oven is heating. The sugar & salt will bring out the colors and juices out of the fruits.

2- I gave the mixture another good stir just before pouring into the pie shell. Top pie with second pie shell. Seal well, and crimp if desired. I also brushed an egg wash on the top crust to give it that golden glow. just beat an egg with a drop of milk, cream or water... Make vents/slits to let steam escape will cooking.



**I strongly suggest that you put a pan/cookie sheet underneath the pie to catch the juices. Trust me !I am glad I have a self cleaning oven..it was not pretty.

3- Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes on middle/lower rack, reduce heat to 350°F, and bake an additional 30-40 minutes longer.Cool on a rack. Serve warm or cold. As the pie cools down, the juices will thicken..

I loved this pie so much that I think I will make several and freeze them uncooked.

Clogged Bathroom Sink

We purchased our home almost a year ago. The kitchen and bathroom are both very modern, but still beautiful and warm. I especially love my bathroom sink, as you can see, it's shaped like a bowl...The only glitch is that it has been "clogged" ever since. Meaning that I have to clean the darn thing 10 times a day or live with toothpaste and other gunky stuff staring at me every time I use the bathroom. It ruins the whole look and is not very hygienic. I did not want to use Drano or other potent chemicals. I have tried pretty much everything, hot water, bleach, vinegar, tweezers...to no avail.. Then I stumbled upon this homemade concoction and VOILA! I now have a perfectly white clean sink :-) I am happy woman

Recipe:

This is the most Eco friendly recipe I have found, and the least expensive as well.

-Mix together 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1/2 of table or coarse salt. (I used regular salt) -pour down in the sink, if you can, remove the drain stopper, mine just unscrews.
-Pour about 1 liter of boiling water down the sink.
-Wait 10 minutes and open the cold water tap for a few minutes, that should clear up everything.

***They recommend to do this once a month as maintenance***

My Favorite Spring Salad

Beautiful, isn't it?

I decided to mix all my favorite salad ingredients together and came up with something amazing!I have a new love: Jicama! I simply love the freshness and crunch of that root vegetable. The taste and texture is somewhat between a potato and apple. It is perfect julienned in salads.

Here are the ingredients, however feel free to add whatever you have on hand..

-Spring salad mix
-A handful of Spring shoots, (pea, onion, beet, or whatever is available)
-Jicama, cut into matchsticks
-Thinly sliced red onion
-Quartered strawberries
-Toasted pine nuts