Month: May 2020

Lockdown foods–the waffling edition

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Waffled Leftover Mac & Cheese

The Skillet section of Lifehacker.com has a regular ‘waffling’ feature, where different foods are put in the waffle iron. The waffled mac & cheese got my attention. My first attempt turned out like this.  Some of the edges get crispy. It can almost be a hand-held snack, but I recommend eating it over a plate, as some of the noodles will probably come loose.

Mac & Cheese

The instructions:  https://skillet.lifehacker.com/you-should-waffle-leftover-mac-and-cheese-1842567738

The recipe: I tried waffling two different mac and cheese recipes; both from allrecipes.com.  One was this stovetop recipe, and the other was this baked version.  The Lifehacker article recommends baked mac & cheese for waffling.  However, for flavor I preferred the stovetop version. 

Then for something different, I tried this recipe that adds pesto and dried tomatoes. It was also tasty and waffled well. https://www.foodiecrush.com/stovetop-pesto-macaroni-and-cheese-with-corn-and-sun-dried-tomatoes/ The pictures below are of this recipe.

The waffling process was simple:  Put a scoop of cold mac & cheese on the preheated waffle iron; smash the lid closed and let the sizzling begin.  Three (3) minutes in the waffler produced the best result for me. On removal, the mac and cheese doesn’t stick to the waffle iron, but I did have to gently coax it out; same as with a regular waffle.

Cleanup was a cinch. There was residue in the waffle iron, but it came out easily with a wipe down.
Verdict: Highly recommend. Two thumbs up.

The rest of the leftovers were frozen on a cookie sheet, for future waffling.

There’s been another top notch lockdown music release! This one’s for Moody Blues fans.

DIY Ironing board cover

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My ironing board cover was already in bad shape before I had to press pleats in hundreds of cotton face masks.  Yet, I pressed on.  Eventually the situation got ridiculous.

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My ironing board is a vintage wood model; and slightly smaller than today’s standard store-bought ironing board, so a store-bought cover is too big.  Using a 50% off coupon, I purchased 1/2 yard of ironing board cover fabric.

I removed what was left of the old cover, flattened it out, and traced the shape onto the new fabric.

Ironing board cover -- old

The drawstring in the old cover was actually still good and strong, so I removed it for use in the new cover.

To avoid a bulky drawstring casing, I zig-zagged around the edge of the cover with the drawstring in the middle of the zig-zag stitching.

The finished zig-zag drawstring edge looks like this close up.

Zig-zag casing

For the padding under the cover, I used a piece of left-over cotton quilt batting.  The uneven edge you see is not erratic cutting; it’s where I stretched it.  After seeing this picture, I went back and re-situated it, although it was probably fine. 🙂

Ironing Board underneath

The cover is already looking used, … because it’s getting a lot of use.

Ironing Board cover

The new cover was a quick make, and is so much better to iron on than the old one, that I never should have put off making it.

Not covers.  Scotland has been putting out some nice lockdown music.

The lovely Vera has been called up for active duty.

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She is 75 years old and still dependable.  ‘Vera’ is my Singer 127 treadle sewing machine, manufactured in the early 1940s and originally purchased in Indiana in February 1945.  Some of the masks I’m making require several colors of thread.  It’s a total drag to rethread the machine multiple times for one mask batch.  So, I’ve called upon my older machines.  For now, Vera is handling the ecru thread color.

Vera has the rare black ‘crinkle’ finish, and blackside metal plates.  The lamp isn’t sitting on the cabinet for decoration; it’s a necessity.  There’s no light on the machine since it isn’t electrified.

Vera the Machine

Here’s a closer view of her crinkle finish and black metal plates.  The plainness of the finish and lack of embellishments says ‘wartime’ to me. Vera closeup

Vera crinkle finish

In the cabinet there’s a well-stocked drawer of presser feet, an old metal seam gauge, needle threaders, and a good supply of bobbins.  (It is a ‘vibrating shuttle’ machine, which uses long, narrow bobbins.)

Vera equipment drawer

Another drawer holds the original purchase receipt, and user manual.  Her original purchase price was $105.75.

Vera paperwork drawer--redact

The handwritten note on back of the receipt says:

  • 5 year guarantee
  • 5 year free service
  • Free sewing courseVera warranty

In another drawer is the all-important sharp pointed tool for piercing a new treadle belt.  It serves as a bodkin, too. Belt tool

Sewing with a treadle machine is like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time.  Your feet work the pedal, while the right hand is on the hand wheel, to be the starter, speed controller, and ’emergency brake’.  That leaves only the left hand to maneuver the fabric.  When it all gets going, the sound and feel is mesmerizing.

More about the Singer 127: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singer_Model_27_and_127

A blog post about the crinkle finish and blackside metal.  https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/blackside/

And I’ll be darned, look who else was channeling Vera this week.

The Instant Pot Wine recipe really works.

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If you have an Instant Pot, you can start this wine now, and it will be ready to drink in 2-4 weeks, aka when stay-at-home rules are starting to be relaxed and we’re allowed to share a drink with a few good friends on an outdoor patio. 

Recipe and tutorial here:  https://foodnservice.com/instant-pot-wine/    Huge high-five and thank-you to this food blogger!

There are only three ingredients: grape juice, sugar, and this Lalvin Bourgovin RC 212 wine yeast.

IMG_20200425_183316268awSugar awLalvin Bourgovin RC 212 Wine Yeast, 5 grams - 5-Pack

If your stay-at-home order gets extended, that’s fine.  Stay in and stay safe.  I mean it.  The wine will taste that much better after the wait.

Back when I first saw the Instant Pot wine tutorial going around, I made a batch and pronounced it ‘not undrinkable’.  So I then made a double-batch (aka a gallon), and added the following to the process:

  • Gave it a full month to ferment;
  • Strained the wine three times through coffee filters; and
  • Discarded the sediment in the bottom of the bottle.

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The resulting wine was absolutely drinkable.  In fact it was so drinkable that I’ve got another batch brewing for when our stay-at-home order is lifted.

Instant Pot Wine

I’m looking forward to gathering with a handful of friends, and although we’ll still be wearing masks and standing apart in a well-ventilated space, we can reach our glasses out and click them together.

IMG_20200426_202304512aw RSR