Baked Kale Chips

August 29, 2013, in
Baked kale chips are easy to make and also very healthy for you.  If you are not a fan of kale this recipe just might convert you.  They are crisp, light, and melt in your mouth.

You will need fresh kale, olive oil, and kosher salt.  




First, trim the leaves off the stem, cut them into medium to small pieces, and place them on a cookie sheet. Next, drizzle olive oil over them and sprinkle a good amount of kosher salt on top.  HELPFUL HINT- make sure not to overcrowd the kale on the cookie sheet. You want the leaves to be crispy.

Next pop them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10-15 mins.

Take them out of the oven 


Pour them in a pretty bowl 


And now you have a delicious good for you baked snack.


Stenciled Number Trays

August 19, 2013, in

stenciled-number-trays


I found two oak TV trays in the trash along with some really nice baskets.  I found these treasures over a year ago before I started blogging. I was on my way to work early one morning when I spotted them.  I stopped my car thinking if I should get out to take a look.   When I saw the garbage truck heading my way I knew I had to think fast. I jumped out and grabbed whatever I could, throwing it all in my trunk. Then I sped away like I was some kind of thief.

Ok,  I am testing my memory here with this transformation since I have to go back a year or so on how I did this.  Sorry, there are no before pictures.  The trays were brown and the finish was worn.  I knew I wanted to lighten them up.  I thought if I used spray paint I could get a nice even coat with no brush marks.  I also knew I wanted to do something else to them. (something simple).  I noticed in a lot of magazines that numbers were popular in design.  I thought of stencils....but didn't want to spend the money, so I typed on my computer free number stencils and a whole bunch of different websites came up. I picked a site randomly chose numbers, printed and cut them out.


 I think if I did this again I would choose numbers that had some kind of meaning like the birthday of my daughter or the day we purchased our house or our anniversary.  You get the idea right.  You also can pick a different design for the stencil.



Let's see...  the next thing I did was fold tape on the back of the number and placed it in the middle of the tray.  This is an important step because it keeps the number from moving while you're spraying it with the paint.




So now that the numbers are taped spray the entire surface with any paint color. Then just before it completely dries gently peel off each number.  Then lightly spray just the number part. You can skip this part if you want the number to be a darker color. I used high gloss spray paint.

We use these trays just about every day and they wipe clean of water spills and food spills.


I like how you can see the grain of the wood showing through.
And That's That.....  So Simple!




You might remember seeing them in some of my earlier posts





These are great little trays that you could use in any room of your house. 
They can be used as dining trays, end tables, nightstands, table for your laptop.
They can also be used as extra tables for when you have guests over.





So how does that saying go?......  One man's trash is another woman's treasure.


Yay, my new camera arrived today!  The weather is beautiful so I thought I would go outside and test it by taking a few photos.  It is a point and shoot Nikon Coolpix  L810 with a wide optical zoom.  It is not as fancy as my other camera (The One I Dropped) but a good replacement and one I think I will be happy with for a while.

The first photos I took are of sunflowers growing in a field in our tiny village.


a-beautiful-day-with-my-new-camera-lovemysimplehome.com


a-beautiful-day-with-my-new-camera-lovemysimplehome.com
I am standing on the other side of a fence
I didn't want to trespass on the property so I took these using my zoom
a-beautiful-day-with-my-new-camera-lovemysimplehome.com

a-beautiful-day-with-my-new-camera-lovemysimplehome.com



a-beautiful-day-with-my-new-camera-lovemysimplehome.com



On the way home I stopped at a horse farm


He was the only one out today

a-beautiful-day-with-my-new-camera-lovemysimplehome.com

 The zoom is great on this camera!
In the last picture, you can see how far away I was standing when I took this shot. 
a-beautiful-day-with-my-new-camera-lovemysimplehome.com

And this one
a-beautiful-day-with-my-new-camera-lovemysimplehome.com
It looks like he spotted me taking his picture.
I love horses they are so sweet.



a-beautiful-day-with-my-new-camera-lovemysimplehome.com

The clouds rolled in fast
Nature is an ever-changing canvas.  I love it.
a-beautiful-day-with-my-new-camera-lovemysimplehome.com



  This is the actual distance I was from the horse.  
a-beautiful-day-with-my-new-camera-lovemysimplehome.com

It is fun taking pictures of nature.  How about you? 
 Do you enjoy it and what pictures do you like to take?
I would love to know.


Sunflowers & A Peach Pie

August 08, 2013, in
In the summer and fall, I like to buy fruit, vegetables, and flowers at the local farm stand instead of purchasing them at the grocery store.   We mostly eat vegetables, fruit, pasta, and fish during the year.
During these two seasons, I get to pick the freshest veggies and fruit for my family. That makes me a happy mom.  The other day my daughter and I went to a farm stand near my mom's house.  
We purchased peaches and sunflowers.

These should have smiley faces on them


Yummy
The peaches are in season and so sweet and juicy!



I was so happy when my daughter said 
"Let's bake a pie!"

I went straight to my FAVORITE go-to cookbook in the whole world.
Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book
Mine is well over 25 years old and not so new.   I think I should consider buying a new one.
I like it because it has a binder it is easy to take a page out of the book and the recipes are simple and easy to follow.

We used the Golden Peach Pie recipe and tweaked it using what I had on hand

Recipe from the book:  Page 273

2 1-pound cans sliced cling peaches
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
Pastry for 2-crust
9-inch pie   
                                                                                         oven 400 degrees

Drain peaches, reserving 1/3 cup syrup.
Combine sugar, flour, nutmeg, and dash salt.  Add reserved syrup.  
Cook, stirring constantly, till thick and bubbly.
Add butter, lemon juice, peel, and extract, then peaches.  Line 9-inch pie plate with pastry; fill.  Adjust top crust, cutting slits for escape of steam.  seal.  Bake at 400 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.

This is what we used:


We swapped out the cling peaches for local in-season (yummy) peaches, used vanilla extract  
no orange peel
and went with a store-bought pie crust.




We let it cool by the window because we had to have a piece right away.



Look who else wants a piece



Sorry to say that while in the process of doing this post I dropped my camera in the dog's water bowl and it broke so I don't have a pretty picture of a sliced piece of the pie.  But I will tell you it was delicious and most of all it was fun making this with my daughter. 


We had a fun day shopping at the farm stand, baking what we brought home, and enjoying the flowers with a little photo shoot.  



Off to buy a new camera


Hi Friends, the deacon's bench finally has a spot in our home.  There is a small vestibule when you first enter then you walk right into our living room. This is where I placed the bench.  
It's a great spot for taking off and putting on shoes.   

a-deacon-bench-and-a-chevron-rug

This is the bench I purchased at a yard sale a few months ago. 
 I am thinking of painting it with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.

I  used a clam basket filled with clamshells that I found on the beach, hydrangeas from my garden, and a pillow that I purchased online from Decor Steals.  One of my favorite places to buy accessories.


I love the saying on the pillow.  





I placed a chevron rug under the bench.   Purchased at Home Goods.
I painted and stained the stool from the estate sale using vinegar and steel wool. 




I love the rays of sunshine that steam through the windows.


So does this little guy.



And this big girl.
 Waiting for her morning walk

The pillowcase I purchased at White Flower Farm House.
A quaint shop on the North Fork of Eastern Long Island.   







Enjoy your weekend!



© love my simple home · THEME BY WATDESIGNEXPRESS