127 yard sale day 1: Frankfort-Danville

after settling into Frankfort last night, we started our first day of our 127 yard sale adventure relaxing and taking advantage of the fact that there was only 50 miles between Frankfort and our next stop, Danville.
Kentucky is a the nation's biggest producer of bourbon and to celebrate, we decided to visit one of the several distilleries in the area-but not before breakfast.
using Yelp, we wanted to find a a place that showed us how great the region was-let me tell you, we found that place!
Rick's White Light Diner, may sound kind of "what the heck is that?" by name, but if you are in the Frankfort area this is a MUST DO-and be prepared to wait in line, this place was just aired on Guy Fiere's Dinners Dive-ins and Dives...we were lucky to make it right when this was about to break loose.

(rick off to the left, telling another story-totally funny!!)

(eggs bene-can't resist-also had Crawfish Pie)

(Guy was here!)

We stepped into the tiny diner, sitting about 20 and could feel the on-coming madness, eclectic with stickers, Madonna's Nude Photo book on the register, movie posters (Scarface and Taxi Driver anyone) and a number of odds and ends that so much reflected the owner/chef/cook/entertainment Rick who was cursing up a storm, telling stories and making fun of us Californians. Rick alone is a gem and a master at the grill making the diner's meals on a grill about 2 ft wide with tickets held by old clothes pins.  Best part of my meal besides everything-the beer with an orange slice in it-which i now call the Kentucky Mimosa-totally awesome & highly recommended by Rick-heck i am on vacation!

(the barrel run is a short track to wheel barrels to a huge house where it is to age for up to 9 years!)

Next was a trip to bourbon country-we decided to visit the Woodford Reserve Distillery, a little off 127, but totally worth it.  This premium bourbon is made at the oldest operating bourbon distillery in the nation and for $5 you can get an amazing tour with, you guessed it-samples. we bought some bourbon of course and some smoked bourbon salt (to some goodness later with). 

(fermenting the booze)

(copper chambers- these were amazing to see up close-it was super hot hot here!)

(barrels resting, there was a little cat hanging out there too!)

with only 15 miles left to go until we hit Danville, we stopped at a few sale areas. one of which i was able to pick up an old canning book and saw some old-school canning items.  Unfortunately, it was EXTREMELY hot. note: if you are not into sweating, humidity or being in hell-this was so extreme in heat...hopefully it will die down a little (we were told it will, just a little).  

(i got a couple of goodies from this booth, including a sweet bottle opener)

major shopping tomorrow!

pie class with Evan Kleiman-an update to working with a rockin' chica

(gone in 60 seconds: Evan's tomato n' gruyere cheese pie)

so this past weekend i had a canning class with Evan Kleiman-queen-of-pies, Good Food host and so much more on pie filling and pie crusts at her restaurant Angeli Caffe.
have to admit-the nerves where a runnin' though me realizing that i was going to be teaching canning this and that with a woman who is, in so many words-a "mera-mera" of culinary So Cal and then some....there were lots of, "please don't f-up this...put your A-game on" type thoughts going through my head for sure!

(starting the workshop with a quick talk on basic canning)

but as soon as i walked into Angeli on Saturday morning i felt at total ease-something that is automatic with Evan. she is a woman with charm and a great energy that you feel like you are coming into her home. Only an hour after arriving, we were met with our 8 students-pretty amazing seeing that we only started promoting the class a little over a week before.

(Evan teaching pie crusts)

I started out the workshop talking about canning while Evan blanched peaches for filling.  After the filling was made and we loaded the jars Evan taught the students how to make 2 different kinds of pie crust and everyone made little pies made in jelly jars that they could put in the oven later (see above).

(the finished product was a quart of organic peach pie filling for each student)

Even though we were both a little tired, the day ended up being really wonderful and has inspired us to do another workshop on tomatoes (will be posting about this next week)!  Most of all, it has been really great to work with someone so inspiring...

CSA cooking: cucumber-basil mojitos

basket inventory: lettuce (2 kinds), oranges, carrots, grapefruit,  limes (YES!), cucumbers, basil, strawberries, green beans, watermelon, squash

(basically this and a few more items)

so it is Summer and what better way to embrace it than with a cool and refreshing drink made from the cool cucumber.  lots of high-end eateries are making cucumber drinks, spare the $10/drink price tag and make your own for $10/gallon!  typically, mojitos are made with mint-we didnt have any, so i thought of the next logical thing we had-basil!  it was actually pretty good and i made it recently for a canning class at the house.

CUCUMBER-BASIL MOJITOS
(serves 4-5 drinks)

• 1 c cucumbers, chopped (i like to have them pretty well chilled)
• 1/4 c agave nectar (sugar will work too, but agave mixes so much better!)
• 1/4 c fresh lime juice
• 4-5 basil leaves (you can add more depending on the type, but start small them add more)
• 2 c ice cold water
• 1 c sparkling water (or you can omit the agave and add ginger ale or some other sweetened seltzery bev)
• 3/4-1c rum (i tend to add a lot of ice so i add more rum)
• garnishes: sliced cucs, basil, limes (have a little of each to help people balance the flavors)

blend the cucs with the chilled water well and strain to get the chunky stuff out, pour into a pitcher.

muddle the basil and a little agave and lime juice well. pour into the cuc pitcher and add the rest of the ingredients and mix well, adjust.  

fill glasses with ice, pour into cup and garnish-enjoy!

cleaning the tub-what works

so with everything else that is going on, we still have to do regular house-stuff...the one thing i normally argue about is the dang tub...who wants to clean it-yeah, not me!
Santa Ana has some serious hard-water and "OCD-delilah" wants it UBER-clean, military-style to be exact. only problem is that when you want to get rid of the "gunky" stuff, you might have to resort to foul smelling nastiness...do you really want that going into our water-no thank you!
here are some of the things i use to have a happy, healthy and above CLEAN tub:

Ecover: LOVE this company-nothing beats them, their limescale remover is the best thing out and really does work.

scrubbing items: seriously and old toothbrush does the trick-it gets the small spots and you are recycling! i also use walnut sponges from Natural Value...we usually sell them and i must say people order them by the case-they are that good!

ZIP-IT: use this regularly this cheap and tiny gizmo gets the gross stuff that can cause a serious drain problem before it event thinks of happening. SO WORTH the few bucks (we sell em too but so does your local hardware store).

AFM Safecoat: cannot say enough about this pioneering company that was one of the first to create low/zero-odor products-get their grout sealer- it will help if the grout wasn't sealed before and can save you scrub time.

Cream Scrubs: Ecover makes some great cream scrubs that are great for the tub itself...or make it yourself.  here's a great recipe from Natural Home Magazine (love!)

• 1 cup baking soda, in a medium sized mixing bowl
• 1/2 cup liquid castile soap
• 5-10 drops of antibacterial essential oil, such as lavender, tea tree or rosemary 
• mix everything until it makes a nice paste, make a bunch for later and use water to re-hydrate the mixture

PS: a little spray bottle of water and tea tree oil is great to freshen the tub and to keep it anti fungal.

Makin' Pie-SPECIAL PIE CLASS IN LA with Evan Kleiman and me!

a few weeks ago i talked about my class for culinary "mera-mera" Evan Kleiman at the house-hot damn the lady is great!  Evan, as those who are familiar with her/her show (PS if you don't-you need to download that shiz on your MP3 ASAP), is a big-time pie chica, starting last year, she has been on the make for pie everything...the woman has made pie a everyday last Summer-talk about skillz!

(this time it will be peaches, nectarines and apricots!)

well, in the spirit of her Pie-A-Day Summer, on July 31st, Evan Kleiman and i will be teaching a class at beloved Angeli Caffe on pies. know how to make the BEST ever crust EVER from the chica-with-the-mostest and learn how to can the filling (make and take it home y'all) so you can make it for future bragging rights...because, believe me-you do NOT want to miss this.

(the location-Angeli Caffe)

(mera-mera Evan Kleiman)

(woman in action)

space is limited to 15 people so you must RSVP fast.  students will take home their own pie filling, eat samples and maybe a little surprise from yours truly too!

Makin’ Pie workshop

Join KCRW Good Food host and Angeli Caffe owner Evan Kleiman for a special workshop celebrating the beloved pie! A toast to Kleiman’s popular Pie-A-Day Summer series, she alongside Master Food Preserver Delilah Snell will teach how to make the tastiest pie to eat now or to savor later.

Held at Angeli Caffe, the workshop will start with a mouth-watering tutorial on the perfect pie crust, then a hands-on canning session of summer stone-fruits pie filling. Students will learn the art of home-food preservation and take home their own pie filling. Recipes and samples will be included-not to be missed!

$100 per person

Saturday, July 31st, 11-1:30PM

Angeli Caffe: 7274 Melrose

to register email or call Delilah Snell

delilahsnell@yahoo.com

714.836.8727

the 127 yard sale: here we come!

finally got me a ticket for the 127 yard sale.
if you haven't heard of it or watched a Fine Living Network/HGTV show during August, the 127 yard sale  is the largest yard sale in the US.
how large??  how about over 600 miles large-this thing is from Alabama to Michigan (even longer than last year!), don't even try to challenge it-this one has you beat!

(just a blurry map of all the treasures that will be found!)

last year, i braved the heat, humidity and crowds with my mom.  we flew to Birmingham AL and started where the the route starts in Gadsden, AL (note: finding the actual start is not as easy as it sounds!)...we drove over 300 miles to Lexington, KY and learned a lot along the way (like you dont need to drive that much of the route for starters),  this year, we are planning something a little different-i also have some tips and some things to look out for b/c i am a little more organized this time around...like....
-staying in places with internet-checking first to see if they have it (dont assume)
-realizing that you may not have an ice cold beer at the end of the day so stock up before hand and bring it with you
- make a list of what you might be looking for and be focused
-make sure you download a boat-load of good radio-cause you might not like what you hear

This year, i am meeting my man who is driving from CA in a Yukon where we will get a trailer. knowing that i had the best deals in Kentucky and Tennessee i am flying into Louisville and from there we will head to Frankfort where we will head south to Chattanooga- our stops include:
Frankfort, KY
Danville, KY
Crossville, TN (this is going to be a long haul day)
Chattanooga, TN

Special note: if you are thinking about making this trip, please, please call to see if there are available rooms where you plan to spend the night-RESERVE the room!!  several of the smaller towns we wanted to stay in (like the Jordan Motel in Jamestown) were sold out...some places didnt have a single room in town available-save yourself the 50 mile detour and reserve one NOW or just stay in bigger cities and dont travel as far.

this year, i will be bring a few different cameras to take a collection of pictures of the awesome signs that make up this route.  i will be posting some of them on my facebook page when i get a chance.
any suggestions of what to look for??

IKEA goodness

love me some IKEA.  as far as big-box retailers, they seem to be the best one out there-they treat the employees pretty well, quit on the formaldehyde years ago, recycle and were one of the first big-guys that started charging for bags (should have been $1 though, not $0.05).  i always suggest my customers to go there if on a tight budget (just dont over-do it, too much IKEA is well, too much IKEA-you gotta mix it with other stuff).
when i first opened the store and was doing a majority of the build-out (about 8 months), i spent a good amount of time there (that and the Depot, salvage yards & flea markets) ...i was quite familiar with the products.  over the years i only go a few times and up until last week when i had to pick up another coffee press.

again, IKEA has come out with some pretty neat items, great for the person with a small space or a little imagination.

BYGEL- magnetic knife rack: i have a larger version of this at home for all of my knives, but i HAD to get this cuter, small version and at $2.50 (you get 2 of them), i figured that i could find something to do with them.  i actually used them to hold larger scissors that could not fit in the drawer!

KROGEN- pot hangie thing: huge fan of these, but unless you score on one at a flea/yard sale, they can be costly.  This version is only $25 and attaches to the ceiling.

BEKVAM-spice rack: yes pretty ordinary, but with some cute bright color this could be super cute and it was only $4!

GLASORT KULLE-bedding:  i just thought this we super inspirational to make as a quilt or wall hanging yourself

OSTLIG-plant helper: always expanding on the garden supplies, this trellis is a heck of a lot prettier than the traditional ones...very English garden!

HAVET-chair/bed deal: this is a great idea and so perfect for the person who has zero room, but might have company. what i love most is that it has wheels so you can move it around anywhere...awesome for the loft or bachie-pad, make your own cover from an extra sheet set that you can use with the bed conversion and you dont even have to clean up as quickly when guests leave!- 250 is not really that bad when you think of how many things this can be (mobile comfy chair, bed, and a long bench...even in a pinch a couch if up against a wall with big comfy pillows!)

dont get me started on AS-IS section-LOTS of ideas there!