This Vintage Chica

recipe: french onion soup with oaxaca cheese

I am not a huge fan of onions on my burgers, onions in my salad or onions in general.  But for some reason I have always loved french onion soup.  Its probably all the bread and cheese that accompanies the broth.  For the past several weeks, I've been playing around with different recipes and have settled on the one below that adapted from a recipe that appeared on the Food Network website.

French Onion Soup with Oaxaca Cheese

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6 large yellow onions (about 4 pounds), halved and cut pole to pole into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• salt
• 2 cups water
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups beef broth
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme, tied with twine
• 1 bay leaf
• black pepper
• your choice of bread, cut into 1/2-inch squares (like large croutons)
• 2 1/2 cups of shredded Oaxaca cheese or mozarella

Soup Directions:

Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Generously spray the inside of a heavy-bottomed large iron skillet or dutch oven with a nonstick cooking spray. Place the butter in the pot and add the onions and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, for 1 hour (the onions will be moist and slightly reduced in volume). Remove the skillet from the oven and stir the onions, scraping the bottom and sides of the skillet. Return it to the oven until the onions are very soft and golden brown, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours longer, stirring the onions and scraping bottom and sides once or twice.

After onions are soft, place skillet on stove over medium-high heat. Don't forget to use an oven mit, the skillet will continue to be very hot.  Brown the onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of skillet, until the liquid evaporates and the onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes.  Reducing the heat to medium if the onions are browning too quickly. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the pot bottom is coated with a dark crust, about 6 to 8 minutes.

Stir in 1/4 cup water, scraping the skillet bottom to loosen crust, and cook until water evaporates and  bottom has formed another dark crust, about 6 to 8 minutes. Repeat process of deglazing (this term was new to me, we just call it scraping the skillet around here) 2 or 3 more times, until onions are very dark brown. Stir in the broths, 2 cups of water, tied thyme, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, scraping up any final bits of browned crust on bottom and sides of skillet. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Take the tied herbs out and season with a little salt and pepper.

For the croutons:

While the soup simmers, toast the bread squares in the oven until dry, crisp, and golden at edges, around 10 minutes. Set them aside.

To serve:

Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler an turn your oven to broil.  When the broiler is hot, set individual broiler-safe bowls on baking sheet and fill each with about 1 3/4 cups of soup. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices and sprinkle evenly with Oaxaca cheese (or mozarella). Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes.

Let soup cool 5 minutes before serving.

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My MIL got me hooked on Oaxaca cheese when she was here over the holidays.  I keep finding new ways to substitute it for mozarella.  It melts perfectly and because of how it melts, it also makes great quesadillas.  Mmmm...

an invitation to jump

This post is an effort to capture a bit of the unstaged, unprogrammed, unplanned-ness of our days. 

So, why is it that my changing the sheets on our bed is an automatic invitation for a jumping contest and a pillow fight?  Is it one of those things that all little people do?  this concept must be one of the instructions whispered to them when they arrive in this world?  Like...drive your mama bonkers by spinnning around the kitchen in circles while you are eating dinner.  And spalsh as much water as you can outside the tub during bath time so that it flows downstairs and into the living room below.  The dog loves to be ridden like a horse.  Oh, and every stick you find along your walk is a keeper.

Yes, it must be.

Its all fun and games until someone breaks a lamp, eh?

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As you might have noticed, I've been working on a few things around the blog the past several weeks.  Im trying to streamline things and make certain posts easier to find.  I'm also working on a website for myself.  As a person who used to design websites in their previous life, I should have my own, don't you think?  Apologies for the frequent republishing that may show up in your feeds.  Im almost done...I promise.

tutorial: easy stick horse

 

My little man is still very much into his western heritage - only fueled by the trip to Texas around Thanksgiving.  And well it hadn't occured to me, but in the middle of playing good guy (him) vs. bank robber (me) he made a good point.  How can he be a real cowboy without a real horse.  Good point, Wyatt.  So off we went to see what we could find online.  And truth be told, it is slim pickings.  What we found either involved power tools or supplies we did not have on hand.  And to be honest, this cowboy could not wait another minute.  The whole history of the west was in jeopardy and someone needed to do something.  So, here is what we came up with.

EASY STICK HORSE

Supplies:

• one lonely sock
• yarn for the mane and to tie the sock at the bottom
• yarn needle
• felt for ears
• needle
• stuffing
• a stick around three feet long
• two buttons for the eyes
• embroidery needle and thread
• file (optional)
• sandpaper (optional)

Instructions:

1. If your broom handle is not smooth, you will want to sand it down so little cowpokes will not hurt themselves.  Measure 12 inches down the broom handle from the blunt end of the stick and make a mark.  Then use the file (or anything else you can think of that would do the same thing) to make a notch all the way around the broom handle. (see below)

2.  Stuff the sock half way with the stuffing.  Stuff it as full as you can get it, otherwise your horse head will be floppy...and cowboys don't like horses with floppy heads.

3.  Cut four triangle shaped pieces ou of your felt.  Triangles should be around 5 inches tall and at least 5 inches wide at the base.  Pair them up and using your embroidery needle, sew two pieces together.  You should have two ears now.

4.  Hand sew the ears onto your half stuffed sock just to the left and right of where the heal would be on the sock.

5.  Cut many, many (how many is up to you) 10 inch lengths of yarn.  We cut 50 and had to cut more.  I had help with this, so I can't say exactly how many we ended up with.

6.  Thread each of the yarn pieces through the yarn needle and sew the horse's mane.  Secure each piece of yarn with a knot.  The mane should begin about three inches in front of the front of the ears and end about half way down the sock.  The more yarn you use making your mane, the better he will look.

7.  Using your embroidery needle and thread, sew the buttons in front of the ears to make the eyes.

8.  Now you are ready to insert the stick into the horse's head and fill the rest of the sock with the stuffing.

9.  Pull the sock down on the stick and secure the sock with a short length of yarn right at the notch you made.  This is the key to keeping your horse's head on.  Without it...well, its not a pretty sight.

10.  Ride em' cowboy (or cowgirl)!

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Other horses:

- a horse made out of an old pair of jeans from Family Fun Magazine

- Average Jane Crafter's pinkalicious polka dot horse

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I'll try to get a better shot of Trigger in action tomorrow in the day light.  But tonight I have a date with Thomas Jefferson.  Yes, I know.  I'm a dork.

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OK, I just popped over to honeyflake and low and behold Living Crafts has a horse similar to ours featured on their cover.  Although they call it a hobby horse and it is much fancier than ours.  Maybe if I had searched for "hobby horse" instead of "stick horse" I would have saved myself a bunch of time.  So glad to know about the magazine, it looks like it has some great projects.

thinking about leadership

We have been talking alot about leadership the past two days. My boys were out of school yesterday for Martin Luther King Day and we began the day by listening to his "I Have A Dream" speech in full...all 17 minutes of it.

We talked about how brave Dr. King was. About how scared he must have been during those days. But despite his own fear and fear for his family, he went ahead and did the right thing. Because...well, it was the right thing.

Today we are out of school for a SNOW DAY! Now there isn't a flake of snow on the ground yet. But that's how we in the South freak out at the small chance of the white stuff.  The snow should start falling sometime after noon here. The day off has given us the perfect opportunity to continue our discussion on leadership.

Over breakfast...again, always over breakfast...we talked about what each of the boys would do if they were the president of the United States. And about the true meaning of leadership.

Here are some of the notes I made during our conversation:

-A good leader is responsible. He knows a lot about math. A leader makes good choices. He takes responsibility when he is wrong. (Zane, 6)
-A good leader is respectful. He is always kind. (Ian, 6)
-A leader is who you want to follow. He is the one who leads the parade. (Wyatt, 3)

So while we wait for a fresh blanket of snow to cover our little piece of Earth. We also look forward to a fresh start for our country. A new leader for a new time.

John Quincy Adams once said, "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Obama. You lead the parade. And we will follow you into history.

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Inauguation Party Ideas from The Crafty Crow

Junior Society had some great ideas for an Inauguration Celebration...mmm...cupcakes!

sixoneway: its a wrap

 

For the past year Stefani and I have been meeting up each Sunday evening...ok, sometimes it was a Monday or a Tuesday evening over here. The encounters have been quiet ones, in the middle of the night when little ones were fast aleep. Or perhaps in the early morning hours when the world is still dark, but the coffee is on. Whomever would arrive first would post their weekly triptych and leave an encouraging word or two for the other. A check in from one mama to another. Small glimpses into each other's lives via a few words to each other and three photos a week.

Six One Way is over. And part of me is a bit sad to be quite honest. Neither Stefani or I have had the heart to post a final "week 52". And that is ok with me...leaving the door open just a smidge.

 

But I am also proud of myself. So very proud. Proud that I actually finished a project that took an entire year. Pround of how much my picture taking has improved. Pround of some of the conversations that have begun between women taking three photos a week and posting to the flickr group.

Remember, I said that the door was left open? Yes, there is a new project. Six has organically lead to a new project. If you have been following for a while you might have noticed a common thread between our photos. That should give you a good clue as to the gist of our new project.

Any guesses?

 

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I used flickr's QOOP to have the photos bound.  I tried blurb, but just didn't get the hang of it  and was afraid if I took the time to really figure it out, I wouldn't get this project finished.  I'll try blurb again some other time.

winter gardening

 

I haven't posted about our garden in quite awhile.  Because...well...its winter.  The strawberries are hibernating beneath their pine needle mulch.  The tools are stored in the shed.  The compost is composting and getting itself ready to be used in the spring.

But thats not to say that there isn't activity to be reported.  Quite the contrary. 

On the VA coast, we are lucky to have fairly moderate winters which allows us to grow greens and cold weather veggies through the wet winters.  I am just now discovering what really grows well and what doesn't.  The peas we planted in the fall didn't make it past the end of November.

The swiss chard has been growing like crazy and I love the color it brings to the garden on cold, gray, rainy mornings.  We have been enjoying the chard in stir fry and in our salads.  I have had this recipe bookmarked for quite some time...originally from MS, but posted several years by Experimentation of Taste.

We have four broccoli plants that have produced a bit here and there...when Scout is not digging around their space.  But there has been plenty to throw into salads, pasta, etc.

The big performer of the winter gardening season has been the cabbage.  We have been able to pick several small heads of cabbage.  I am not a huge coleslaw fan.  At least how it is traditionally made with mayo, but I love it shredded with slices of cucumber with this easy version of broccoli salad dressing.

The first of the seed catalogs arrived last week.  So here's to spring garden planning!  Are you planning a garden this year?  What will you be growing?

new spaces in old places

I drive my S nuts with my constant re-arranging and re-decorating.  Really, I do.  But kiddos are constantly growing.  Interests shift and needs change.  So, in my humble opinion, a house and the rooms withing the house must do the same.

Wyatt was not the only one who needed some space of his own.  Up until this year the older boys have shared everything except beds.  (However, they usually both end up in one or the other bed by morning.)  Until a few weeks ago they had to share one dresser, one small desk, one bulletin board, etc.

But over the last year, it has become increasingly clear that they are becoming their own little people with their own interests and ideas about how they want things in their world to look.  Zane is my organizer and he likes his things neat and tidy.  Ian is my laid back guy and could care less if the clothes in his drawer are folded.  Or even all the way inside the drawer for that matter.  You can see how this could create lots of problems while sharing one dresser.

The boys did not want separate rooms yet, but they loved the idea of creating some separation within their current room set up.  So, we decided that we needed separate desk areas and separate clothes storage.

Their room is long and narrow with two doorways on either side on one end and another wall with bi-fold doors (which might go away like the others have).  And then there is the dormer area which is another challenge as far as wall space goes.  We decided that it was more important for them to have their own desk areas to store supplies and games.  But since they still share socks and underwear, they could share a long, low dresser if they could have their own drawers.

The search was on for some thrifted furniture.  And one day, my friend Alicia and I found the perfect piece at Family Thrift in Norfolk.  The dresser had three small drawers across the top with four larger drawers on the bottom.  Perfect!  Good solid wood, not particle board.  And at $35 it was a great deal.

The dresser was originally yellow and white like it had been in a little girl's room.  And when it came to discuss what color the boys wanted to paint the dresser, everyone had different ideas as you might guess.  Ian wanted red and orange flames.  And Zane wanted yellow and green.  I was at a loss.  But Alicia and I had just been talking about seeing chalkboard paint used on furniture.  So, there was my solution.  Chalk board paint with the boys getting to pick their own drawer colors.

 

Zane's desk is the one they originally shared.  It is a small little desk that I got before S and I were married.  It was originally my grandmother's desk and I can remember it holding phone books and stationary.  And now it is filled with colored pencils and and bionicle parts.

Ian's desk is a vintage A. Brandt ranch oak piece picked up at a steal from the nice older man who fixed our dining room buffet.  It was originally headed for Wyatt's cowboy room.  Wyatt has an A. Brandt mirror in his dress up corner, so I thought we would eventually put this desk in his room, but right now there isn't room.  It fits perfectly in the space at the foot of Zane's bed, so that's where it went.  And I like it a lot more there than I thought I would.  I am not a matchy-matchy person when it comes to decorating and this is the perfect "boy" desk...heavy and sturdy.

Both of the boys love, their new spaces.  Zane is still organizing his desk just the way he wants it and has even asked for "vanilla" folders like I use.  And of course, Ian shoves everything in those deep drawers. 

And everyone is happier...until they want separate rooms.

10 things im loving right now

Today I took the above photo as part of the 365 Days project that I will attempt in 2009.  Wyatt was having some...ahem...stomach issues and needed some company on the potty.  So we read Hedgie Blasts Off, one of our current favorites, for the 955th time.  How similar it is to this photo taken almost two years ago.  The same little feet, even the same pair of jeans worn by the mama. At least it is in a different bathroom in a different house.

As soon as I looked at this photo on the computer screen part of my heart melted.  He's still a baby and he still needs his mama.  Not that I hope he needs to be read to in the bathroom when he's 17, but you know what I mean.  Lots of things change.  Some things stay the same.

Here are a few things I am loving right now...

• This post from soulepapa reminding us all of how precious a gift it is to watch our little ones unfold before us.

• I am so excited to see Stefani's new year offering to us all...so much I wanted to scream when I got a sneak peak.  Really...I've seen the first month's copy and at $6, everyone and their friend's friends need her Book of Days.  I can't think of a better way to slow down, enjoy each other and soak in the gifts of the seasons.

• Spoons from Cathy Cullis.

• This vintage fabric purchased from Laurie of Morning K.  Wyatt will SO love this print.  Now, what shall we make?

• Frontline...full of valuable information in my most favorite documentary style.  Thank you Blair, for the link. 

• Pocoyo on youtube.  This one is from my boys...they can't get enough.  This link is to an episode in Spanish, but there are English episodes as well.

• 

• Erin's big button coffee cozy tutorial.  And have you seen the 2009 calendars she put together?  Oh my...just beautiful.  I am continually amazed by her talent.Thank you so much Erin.

• This photo set from Julie Alvarez.

OK, now its your turn...what are you loving these days?