Remember that antique I told you about in my last post, regarding "firsts"? I thought I would blog about it today, since it has recently taken permanent residency in my kitchen/dining area.When I first spotted this beauty, I knew it belonged in my house. I thought, "It will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine." (*see additional Wayne's World reference later in this post). While I didn't intend to buy anything over 5 bucks that afternoon when my friend and I went out searching for garage sale treasures, I reminded myself that this predicament of Should I Buy It/Shouldn't I Buy It could be easily solved with an impromptu visit to the ATM. Note: Please do not follow my advice when it comes to spending money and/or shopping. Thank you.
The owners lovingly called it The Green Thing. I, potentially color blind and also biased towards anything that could hint at turquoise (my fave color) found the paint to be perfection, chips and imperfections included. I knew if I passed up this gem, I would always regret it, and maybe would occasionally shed a tear or two, staring at the bare space in my kitchen where The Green Thing could have lived. Sniff sniff.
Ok, I'm sure I would have moved on. But still! I HAD to have it!!!
How much I bought it for doesn't matter. I don't need to tell you about how one of the owners is a psychic, and probably already knew I would buy it when I walked into her yard. You probably don't want to hear about the gigantic Great Dane that these people have, and how it was so huge you could ride it like a horse...but his name is Baby! Or that we had to rent a flat bed truck at 7 am to go pick The Green Thing up, because it wouldn't fit in my husband's Jeep.
But what I WILL tell you is that I cleaned all the nooks and crannies with a toothbrush. I fixed (eh, sort of) the broken drawer pull, and gave one of the doors a new piece of glass. I washed it...twice...with soapy water and an old, white t-shirt. My grandma gave me all her beautiful china as my wedding gift, and I never had anywhere to put it...until now. All I know is that The Green Thing has magical powers to put a smile on your face when you see it...and for that, it will always be priceless to me.And now, on to a different topic.
Wayne: So, do you come to Milwaukee often?
Alice Cooper: Well, I'm a regular visitor here, but Milwaukee has certainly had its share of visitors. The French missionaries and explorers began visiting here in the late 16th century. Pete: Hey, isn't "Milwaukee" an Indian name?
Alice Cooper: Yes, Pete, it is. In fact , it's pronounced "mill-e-wah-que" which is Algonquin for "the good land."
Wayne: I was not aware of that.
Wayne's World is one of my favorite movies. Of all time. I can not tell a lie.
My favorite pair of sunglasses broke on Friday, approx. 3 minutes before my sunny, 2 hour road trip to Milwaukee to go see ZZ Top and Tom Petty in concert. I am not making this up.
Now go out and get yourself some big black frames
With the glass so dark thay won't even know your name
And the choice is up to you cause they come in two classes:
Rhinestone shades or cheap sunglasses
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
Coincidence, I think not! ZZ Top rocks in concert. Seriously.
I will close this post out with a recipe that I made up, after reading about how to make a frittata, which is basically the Italian version of an omelet. According to Giada on Everyday Italian. Man, she is so pretty and TINY for being a chef, don't you think? Sorry, back on track. I will be making MANY variations of frittatas in the weeks to come, because A) I'm on a diet B) You virtually can not screw them up C) You can use pretty much anything in your fridge and/or pantry to create your own masterpiece. Note: I did not take a photo of the end product because we were real hungry and ate it up too quickly. I will perhaps take a pic when I try my hand at a Mexican Frittata this week!
This picture illustrates that you can fit A LOT of stuff in your skillet before even adding the egg, which allows for you to be very creative and play with different ingredients. You can add more or less of virtually anything, depending on your taste. By the way, I hate the cameras on cell phones, they take crappy pics like these! I will use my big girl camera next time.
Make This Tonight Frittata
Ingredients
- 7 eggs; I use 4 egg whites and 3 whole eggs
- 1/2-1 lb. asparagus
- 1 bag mushrooms, any variety
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1/2 white onion, diced
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 3 baby red-skinned potatoes, sliced finely
- 1/2 cup parm cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream, half/half, or milk (whichever you have lying around!)
- 2-3 stems of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- Olive Oil, as needed (follow prep instructions)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375. Prep a deep dish, like a casserole dish, with cooking spray or olive oil to prevent sticking. Set this aside for later.
While the oven is heating up, smash and chop one clove of garlic and toss it into a skillet on med.-low heat with some olive oil. Heat until garlic starts to sizzle a bit, then remove garlic from the pan. Keep the oil in the pan because you will use that to heat up your veggies. Add your sliced potato and onion into the skillet, along with your rosemary. Cook on med. heat for about 8 minutes; make sure that potato isn't still raw. While that is heating, snap off the bottom of the asparagus stems (where they naturally break when you bend) and cut asparagus tips and stems into 2-3 inch pieces. By this time, you should be ready to throw the mushrooms and asparagus, along with the green pepper, into the skillet. Let everything cook nicely and blend well together.
While the veggies are getting well acquainted with each other, prep your eggs. I whisk mine in a large bowl with some sour cream, but you can sub whatever you wish. Make sure you blend well, and throw in some black pepper. Note that I use 4 egg whites because I am on a diet, but you can use 7 whole eggs if that tickles your fancy. There are no rules when it comes to the Kingdom of Frittata (well, at least not in my kitchen!). Now, I realize traditional frittatas call to put the skillet into the oven and under the broiler. However, I don't have an oven-safe skillet at the moment, so just know that any deep dish (preferably glass) will do the trick!
Transfer the cooked veggies from the skillet into your dish. Pat them down so everything is even on all sides. Then, pour your egg mixture in. It may feel odd if you've never made this before, but trust me! Stir the egg evenly in so that it reaches the bottom of the dish, and everything should be pretty much coated. Here's where the cheese comes in: sprinkle, with a heavy hand, the 1/2 cup of shredded parm cheese over the top of your veggie/egg mixture before sliding it into the oven.
My frittata took about 1/2 hour to cook all the way through, but I used a very deep dish. Make sure to keep an eye on it; a good way to check is to put a knife in the middle and if it pulls out clean, it's cooked through. Also, right as the dish is ready, the top sort of browns and bubbles and looks so yummy you can't wait to try it.
Enjoy!
xoxo -K
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