DIY Cleaning Products (Cheap & Green!)

Catching up on my Earth Day reading and found this Green Cleaning Recipes article on my weekly Splendora newsletter. 

Now, I don't know about you, but I feel a little tinge of guilt when pouring the Drano down the clogged drain or using up a roll of paper towels when washing the windows.  I'm definitely trying some of these cleaning "recipes" and tips when doing my spring cleaning!  And for more recipes, my friend writes a Greener Living column with some great suggestions for eco-friendly toilet bowl and dishwasher cleaning.

The best part about green cleaning is that I already have most of the ingredients in my cupboards anyway. Can't hurt to try, right?

Delicious Twist to Chicken Salad

We're not huge mayo fans, but chicken salad is a great sandwich stuffer!  Plus, it's a fabulous way to use up leftover beer can chicken or one of those roasted chickens from the store.

This recipe has been modified from the one on Epicurious.com

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups cooked chicken, pulled apart from whole chicken
1 cup chopped drained spicy giardiniera from jar
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup (packed) chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon giardiniera juices
1 teaspoon dried salad herbs
1 package whole wheat dinner rolls
1 container of sprouts

DIRECTIONS
Combine chicken and next 5 ingredients in medium bowl and stir to blend well. Season salad with salt and pepper if you wish. Put it in the bread with sprouts. Enjoy!

Good Old Fashioned Place Settings

I just read The Kitchn post on place settings for dinner parties and found it fascinating!  I've always been a fan of "assigned seats" and really try to put down name cards on each place setting when we host dinner parties (especially if not everyone knows each other).  I think it just takes away that awkward moment of "you sitting here? no, you want to sit here? oh, how about you sit over here and I'll scoot over...." you get the point. 

Taking away that one awkward moment seems to help people settle comfortably into the meal - at least, that's what I have convinced myself.  Sometimes, I even make up nicknames on the name cards and our guests need to figure out where their seat is.  It automatically starts a conversation and evokes laughter every time!

Some wise, timeless advice from Emily Post:

It is usually a mistake to invite great talkers together. Brilliant men and women who love to talk want hearers, not rivals. Very silent people should be sandwiched between good talkers, or at least voluble talkers. Silly people should never be put anywhere near learned ones, nor the dull near the clever, unless the dull one is a young and pretty woman with a talent for listening, and the clever, a man with an admiration for beauty, and a love for talking. (my favorite line!)

Most people think two brilliant people should be put together. Often they should, but with discretion. If both are voluble or nervous or “temperamental,” you may create a situation like putting two operatic sopranos in the same part and expecting them to sing together.

Read the entire short post at The Kitchn.

Picnic Season

It's my favorite season... picnic season!

Yesterday, our friends kicked off picnic season at Peirce Mill and, although a little windy, it was so much fun!  So, in anticipation of a busy picnic schedule in 2010, here are our favorite spots in DC:

Peirce Mill is over by Cleveland Park and is part of Rock Creak Park.
Theodore Roosavelt Island is where Michael took me for a picnic on one of our first dates (aaaaaw...)
The National Arboretum (of course) with 412 acres to cover, I see many more picnics at the Arboretum in our future!
Montrose Park is just down Wisconsin Ave from our apartment and has swings!  You gotta love that!

Sweet and Sour Green Beans

When I first heard sweet and sour with green beans, my first reaction was PASS.  But thank goodness for Michael because he did not pass on this Food and Wine recipe and they are a simple and yummy variation to all the fresh green beans we'll eat in the spring and summer.  Like I mentioned in a previous post, it goes great with trout!

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 pound green beans
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium shallot, minced
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Place the green beans in a steamer basket set over a large saucepan of boiling water. Steam until bright green and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

In a medium skillet, heat the oil. Add the shallot and cook over high heat, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the vinegar and sugar; stir to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and add the beans. Season with salt and pepper, toss well and serve.

Beer Can Chicken

This has been one of our favorite recipes since Michael has found a way to do this in our oven because you can have open flames on balconies in DC.  A couple Christmases ago, Mom and Dad Merschat gave Michael a beer can chicken stand (who knew?) and that's really helped the stability factor.  You don't NEED a grill and you don't NEED a beer can chicken stand, but that's how it's "traditionally" made.  Here's the non-grill version:

INGREDIENTS:
1 fresh whole chicken (about 4 to 5 pounds)
1 can of beer (Boddingtons works well because it has a tall can)

Spice Rub:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup Italian herb seasoning
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Alternate spice rub on Epicurious.com for those who like it spicier.

DIRECTIONS:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Remove giblets from chicken and discard.  Then rinse the chicken inside and out; pat dry.

In small bowl, mix spice rub.  With your fingers, gently loosen skin over breast, being careful not to tear the skin.  Gently rub mixture over breast meat under the skin.

Now take a can opener and cut off the top of the beer can.  TAKE OUT the plastic widget if you're using Boddingtons or Guinness.  Then you need to get rid of 1/3 of the liquid (somehow!) so it doesn't boil over.

Put the 2/3 full can in the beer can chicken stand (or just by itself) on top of a baking sheet (we like to line it with foil for ease of clean up) and then set the spicy rubbed chicken on the throne.  It's easier to lift from the bottom with the legs towards you and then slowly and gently sit the chicken over the can.  Don't force it too much... you should be able to just wiggle it down.

Now put it oven for an hour.  After an hour, check the temperature at the deepest part of the breast and thigh.  It should be 160 degrees.

MMMM... juicy, tender chicken meat with crispy, savory skin...

Simple Sesame Noodles

Thanks to my co-worker Liana, I've found a new favorite blog!  The Pioneer Woman has so many simple and yummy recipes and she makes them really easy to follow.

Last night, I made these simple sesame noodles, pork in a sesame soy ginger marinade, and garlic broccoli.  It was delicious and definitely made the quick and easy go-to recipes list. 

I'm not even going to attempt to cut-and-paste Pioneer Woman's step-by-step recipe because she does such a fabulous job on her website so click here to try this great recipe!

For the pork, I just sliced up some pork chops, poured some Trader Joe's sesame soy ginger vinaigrette on top and let that sit while I was chopping up garlic and broccoli.  Then while the broccoli was steaming, I threw it into a skillet and cooked them so they weren't pink anymore.  Quick, flavorful and delicious.

For the broccoli, I just cut off the florettes and sliced up about 5 or 6 cloves of garlic.  Then I heated up a skillet (make sure it has a matching lid) and added a dab of canola oil.  Once that's hot, stir the garlic in for 20 seconds and then throw in the broccoli.  Toss that around for a few minutes until it's bright green and then splash some water into the pot and put the lid almost all the way on (leave a little sliver on the side so some of the steam can escape).  If you like your veggies crunchy, a few minutes should do the trick.  If you like your veggies a little soft, leave it in a little longer.

Cherry Blossom Pictures

Mom and Dad Merschat visited DC for Easter and they were just in time to see the cherry blossoms!  Our photos are posted on the website if you want to look at our touristy day downtown.

Wild Rice and Brown Rice Salad With Walnuts and Asparagus

Spring is finally here... and so is asparagus!  We made this for Mom and Dad Merschat and it was an overwhelming hit.  So easy, delicious, and healthy!  This is the perfect side dish in any season.

From the NYTimes:


I love the contrast of textures and colors in this salad. The wild rice is earthy, and the brown rice nutty; both are chewy in different ways. Walnuts and walnut oil not only add perfect complementary flavor and crunch, but also contribute healthy omega-3 fats to the mix.

INGREDIENTS:
For the walnut vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or champagne vinegar
Salt, preferably kosher salt, to taste
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 small garlic clove, finely minced or pureed
1/4 cup walnut oil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

For the salad:
5 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock, or water
1/2 pound asparagus, ends trimmed, cut in 1-inch pieces and steamed 4 minutes
1 cup wild rice
Salt, preferably kosher salt, to taste
1/2 cup short-grain brown rice
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs such as chives, dill, tarragon or marjoram
1/3 cup shelled walnuts
Freshly ground pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
In a medium saucepan, bring 3 1/2 cups of the stock or water to boil. Add salt to taste and the wild rice. When the water returns to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 40 to 45 minutes, until the rice is tender and has begun to splay. Drain and transfer the rice to a large bowl.

Meanwhile, in another saucepan, combine the brown rice, the remaining water and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 35 to 40 minutes, until the rice is tender. Remove from the heat. If any liquid remains in the pan, drain. Add to the wild rice.

While the rices are cooking, make the dressing. Whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, salt, mustard and garlic. Whisk in the oils, taste and adjust seasonings. Toss at once with the warm rice. Add the asparagus and the remaining ingredients, and toss together. Taste, adjust seasonings and serve.

Yield: Serves six (if served as meal. Serves more if served as side dish)

Advance preparation: You can make this up to a day ahead of time, but don’t add the asparagus and herbs until shortly before serving.

Our Lives in Perspective

I've always been interested in popular science, but especially in cosmology because it really put everyday things into perspective.  And so lucky for me, one of my co-workers also has the same interest and forwards me interesting articles and videos when he sees them (and I do the same for him).

Today, he sent me to the Astronomy Picture of the Day webpage with this detailed and really interesting note.  I thought it was so interesting and well-written, I decided to share:

This link is to an Astronomy Picture of the Day webpage whose primary attraction is a video that attempts to show what it would be like to travel across the known visible physical universe (as of the scientific knowledge available around 2009).


This video is a bit misleading, though, because it treats the "universe" as a static sphere that has remained unchanged for 13.7 billion years. One has to realize that, in fact, when one views the light from an astronomical object 5 billion of light years away, that means that one is seeing how that object appeared 5 billion years ago. That object does not appear today as it did 5 billion years ago, and is not in the same "place" it was 5 billion years ago, and even the space it was in 5 billion years ago has changed (by expanding, as science currently theorizes.) So, enjoy the video, but understand that, as complicated as it portrays the physical universe, the strictly scientific picture is even more complex and even beyond our ability to accurately portray, since we aren't able to know what's going on NOW anyplace far from Earth. By "far", I mean anyplace from which it takes light a considerable amount of time to reach us (because it's only through light (electromagnetic waves such as visible light, microwaves, X-rays, radio waves, etc.) that we know what we do about astronomical objects.


The other link (in the descriptive text of the webpage itself) is to the "Powers of Ten video" that was made in the 1970's, I think, and that is also worth a look (it only goes out to 100,000,000 light years, but also travels down to the sub-atomic region to simulate a visit to a proton in a man's DNA.)


As you are aware, currently, the known PHYSICALLY VISIBLE universe comprises only about 4% of everything scientists now think was created at the beginning of our physical universe. In other words, everything we think of as being "real" (rocks, trees, water, molecules, atoms, stars, galaxies, electricity, visible light, radio waves, X-rays, etc.) makes up only 4% of everything scientists now think came into physical being at the beginning of the universe (commonly-though-inaccurately called the Big Bang). The other 96% is (currently) two types of "stuff" [Dark Matter (25%) and Dark Energy (71%)] about which they have almost NO idea as to its nature. Scientists have EVERY right to be HUMBLE and NO right to be PROUD about what they THINK they know AND don't know.


I read recently that in the 1700's, the French Academy of Sciences (probably the most prestigious scientific organization at the time of the "Enlightenment" and the establishment of rationalism as the dominant philosophy in the Western world), declared that meteorites were a humbug - not real, without any basis in fact. These scientists dismissed the poor country folk who testified that they found rocks - sometimes peculiarly warm - on the ground that they had seen fall from the sky as liars or, at best, drunks or deluded persons, because THE SCIENTISTS KNEW (believed!) on the basis of their then-current theories about how the world worked that rocks COULDN'T fall out of the sky onto the Earth!

Flowering Cherries at the National Arboretum

Last Saturday was a picture perfect spring day! Michael and I headed over to one of our MOST favorite DC destinations: the National Arboretum. It was sunny and beautiful outside and the cherry blossoms were in bloom and it was a delight to see... but I say "picture perfect" because it was chilly! Brrr...

Fortunately, we'll be checking out the cherry blossoms at the tidal basin with Michael's parents this weekend and it's supposed to be in the 80's. Can't wait!

Trout with Lemon and Dill

Michael has cooked some great new recipes lately, but the last couple weeks have been crazy for me so I'm a little behind on posting our new favorite dishes.

I found this recipe on one of my new favorite blogs Sweet Paul. Michael has been talking about trying to cook a whole fish for a while, so this quick and easy recipe was perfect (and DELICIOUS!)

INGREDIENTS
4 small wild trouts, gutted and cleaned (we bought our de-boned too)
salt
pepper
olive oil
2 lemons, sliced
1 small bunch of fresh dill, chopped
(you can always save some dill sprigs for serving too - it's pretty!)

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Wipe off the fish with paper towels and run both the inside and outside with salt and pepper.
Drizzle a little olive oil in the cavity of the trout.
Add 4-5 lemon slices and dill and place in a large baking dish thats been drizzled with oil.
Drizzle the top with oil.
Bake for about 18-22 minutes, all depends how big your fish is.
Use a sharp knife to see if the meat falls off the bone, then its ready.

We served it with garlic mashed potatoes and sweet & sour green beans (green bean recipe to come - it tasted A LOT better than it sounds).

Simple Fish Tacos Made Simpler

Arthur was in town for a conference in Baltimore so we were lucky to have him stay at our place last night. For this special occasion, we made quick and easy fish tacos and they were delicious! If you have time to make your own guacamole and all that jazz, feel free to use the Food & Wine recipe from which this simplified mid-week dish was inspired.

INGREDIENTS
1 small head of napa cabbage, shredded (4 cups)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for brushing
2 tablespoons lime juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 pounds firm fish (like Mahi Mahi - we get the fish in the frozen section at Trader Joe's and let it defrost in the fridge overnight)
1 pkg. 7-inch flour tortillas, warmed
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 pkg guacamole (we like the fresh guacamole from Whole Foods)
1 pkg or jar of salsa
Hot sauce (optional)
Lime wedges (optional)

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, toss the shredded cabbage with the 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and the 2 tablespoons of lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Brush the fish with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill over moderately high heat until lightly charred and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer the fish to a platter and slice longways.

To assemble each taco, spread a dollop of guacamole on a warm tortilla.* Top with a piece of fish, a few tomato slices, the salsa, and a large spoonful of the cabbage slaw. Serve with the hot sauce and lime wedges.

Perfect for quick and easy spring and summer dinners and pretty healthy too!

*NOTE: It's easy to heat the tortilla. Just put a wet paper towel on the bottom of a plate, put one or two tortillas on top of the wet paper towel, and then put another wet paper towel on top. Then microwave for 30 seconds or until warm.

Awesome Spiral Grass Plant

With all the snow this winter and daylight savings around the corner, I have caught an early case of spring fever. But with all the wind and rain outside, I am forced to do my indoor spring repotting and pruning... which requires going to the garden center... and I am worthless when it comes to impulse buys when I spot neat looking plants!

Juncus Spiralis (aka corkscrew rush) was the lucky impulse buy today! He's wacky, huh? Michael picked out the pot and I stuffed some reindeer moss on top and it looks fabulous on our new dining table!

I hope it lives a while...

We Just Discovered Fresh Squeezed Peanut Butter

We came across these "nut butter" machines at Whole Foods in Glover Park. Just as a novelty, we bought a little containter of plain old roasted peanut butter... and it was DELICIOUS! Sorry Skippy, we're hooked on fresh squeezed nut butters!

You can also get honey roasted peanut butter and cashew butter (or almond butter, I forgot exactly). Can't wait to try them all.

New Dining Room Table Seats 10!

We LOVE our new table and chairs! They aren't anything special, but it's a BIG step up from the big ol' desk Caroline and I bought at UNC surplus for $20 after we graduated that I used for 8 YEARS as my dining room table! Talk about getting your money's worth.

Anyway, super excited and dreaming of fabulous dinner parties soon!

First Annual Spring Garden Party

Let us know if you're in Asheville and can stop by!

Adventureland

Even though I haven't seen most of the movies nominated for Oscars, I just read this article on SFGate.com on the most under-rated movies from 2009 and Adventureland caught my eye.

Thanks to Michael's Netflix queue, it forces me to watch many movies that I would never consider going to see. Adventureland was one of them. It was actually really cute and #1 on this guys under-rated movies list. This is what he says:

1. Adventureland: Nobody saw this poorly marketed coming-of-age tale, which was a funny and romantic throwback to the best John Cusack films of the 1980s. The writing from "Superbad" director Greg Mottola is sharp and the actors are winning. This generation gets it's "The Sure Thing" and "Say Anything."

So if you're looking for a sweet, funny movie this weekend, I would totally recommend Adventureland.

Aina's Vegetable Casserole with Herb Duplings

This recipe reminds me of my trip last year to visit Aina in Oslo, so it always puts a smile on my face when I make it. The ingredient list looks a little long, but you probably have most of the stuff in your kitchen already so all you need are a few veggies.

When Aina and I made this casserole, we used her grandma's hand-me-down covered clay baking dish and I fell in love with it. Thanks to Arthur and Carrie, we now have our own covered clay baking dish! But if you don't have a covered baking dish, don't worry. It still turns out fine with a regular casserole dish... just make sure it's deep enough to hold all the veggies.

Prep time: 30 min
Total cooking time: 50 min
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed (optional)
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 large potato, chopped
1 large carrot, sliced
14 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 1/2 cups (374ml) vegetable stock
1 large sweet potato, cut into half inch cubes
1 medium head of broccoli, cut into florets
2 zucchinis, thickly sliced
2 cups (250g) self raising flour (or 2 cups regular flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder)
4 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small cubes
2 teaspoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary
2/3 cup (160ml) milk
2 tablespoons sour cream

Note: You can substitute dried herbs, but remember to use less because they have a stronger flavor

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400F.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onion. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for five minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and paprika and cook, stirring for one minute.

Add the potato, carrot, tomato and stock to the pan. Bring to the boil, then reduce and heat and simmer, covered, for ten minutes, or until tender. Add the zucchini and broccoli after about five minutes.

To make the dumplings, sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl and add the butter. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs (and if it's not getting to breadcrumb consistency, add a tad more butter). Stir in the herbs and make a well in the center. Add the milk, and mix with a rounded butter knife by lightly applying a cutting motions to the mix. Take care not to over do it as the dumpling will become rubbery in texture if over mixed. Gather up the dough and lift onto a lightly floured surface, then divide into 16 portions. Shape each portion into a ball.

Add the sour cream to the casserole. Transfer to a 2 liter oven-proof dish and top with the dumplings. Bake for 20 minutes (without cover) or until the dumplings are golden and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center. Yum!

Trick: Reheat with cover on so the dumplings don't dry out.

MISS YOU, AINA!

Easy Stir Fry (feat. Napa Cabbage)

We have recently been on a napa cabbage kick. It all started when we bought a big napa cabbage head to make fish tacos (I need to post that recipe too - yum!). We had so much left, I just thought I'd throw it into a simple stir fry to use it up. Michael LOVED it and we've been making variations of the stir fry ever since.

First, check what you have in the fridge. Do you have a couple carrots hanging around? Great... shred them up! Do you have half a carton of mushrooms that you need to use? Great... slice them up! Do you have some garlic cloves and some onions that you need to use before they sprout? Fabulous! You have a stir fry!

INGREDIENTS
1 head napa cabbage (chopped)
1 sliced onion
3 or more cloves of garlic
sliced ginger (optional - I don't like ginger so I leave it out)
sliced chicken breast or pork (optional)
any other veggies you want to add (sliced mushrooms, sliced zucchini, shredded carrots, green beans, and whatever else you think would taste yummy)

Sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock or water
3 tablespoons soy sauce (low-sodium if you've got it)
1 tablespoon Mirin (Japanese cooking wine)
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper or a spoonful of Chinese red pepper sauce
And these are not exact measurements - if you like it saltier, put more soy sauce in, and if you like it spicier, put more hot sauce in. Have fun with it!

DIRECTIONS
First, put all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix them up. Set aside.

If you're not making this vegetarian, splash some vegetable oil in a hot wok or skillet and cook up the sliced meat. Also, feel free to sprinkle some pepper on it if you like black pepper. Once cooked, scoop into bowl and set aside.

Make sure there's still some oil in the bottom - if not, splash some more in. Now put in the "thicker" veggies that take longer to cook (onions, carrots, green beans, etc) Stir that around until they are cooked and a little limp (about two or three minutes) then scoop into a bowl and set aside.

Now for the rest of the veggies - cabbage, mushrooms, zucchini, garlic - if they don't all fit in the wok or skillet, just do half at a time. Trust me, the cabbage will cook down a lot.

After you've cooked everything, put it all back in the wok or skillet and spoon in the sauce to taste. Then serve over steamed rice!