(Overgrown) Cucumber Cinnamon Rings

If you have lots of big, overgrown cucumbers, read on! This  recipe is a favorite from my childhood. I'm not sure where my mom got it from, but it is an excellent and tasty way to use those overgrown cucumbers from the garden. It does take four days to complete, but if you are doing a big batch, it's well worth it! The end result is a crisp and sweet cinnamon ring that doesn't even taste like a cucumber anymore. You can serve it as a side dish or garnish, and I recommend them chilled.

Here's the recipe:

Let me add a few notes to the recipe too. The first day is probably the longest and messiest, because you have to peel and core the cucumbers. I think the trick is to have someone peel and then another person core. Try to find some utensil that is round to do the coring also- I ended up using a large icing tip, and it worked pretty well.

Use a LARGE container so you don't have to fight with everything fitting. I think I did about a dozen foot-long cucumbers, and I used a large plastic Tupperware container that was about a foot diameter and 8 inches deep. Even with this size, I didn't have a lot of room.

On the second day, you will need at least a stockpot to fit all the cucumbers. Or, use your cooker canner. Rinse them well to get the pickling lime off! Also, I found that it saves time to prepare and boil the syrup while the cucumbers are simmering for those two hours.

On the third day, all you do is reboil the syrup to bring out the flavor and then dump it back over. On the fourth, prepare your jars and get the hot water bath going while you reboil the syrup and pack the jars. Be sure you have a rolling boil going for 5 minutes, then remove the jars. I found that setting the jars on an old towel and covering them with an old town helps the heat stay in and seal the jars. 

Day One                                    Day Two

 Day Three                             Day Four

Feel free to contact me via the comments section and I can help you with the process!

Coco's Bistro Date

Justin and I went to Coco's Bistro last night for a date. It's so nice to dress up and get away. While it was a bit more than our traditional choices, we had it recommended to us. We weren't disappointed.

First, it's super easy to get to, right off of 35 in downtown Dayton. We had made reservations for 6pm, but it wasn't too crowded when we go there at all, though it did get busier as the hour progressed. Starting with the Fried Brie was a great choice! The brie is served with yummy bread and a host of other flavors swirled on the plate.

Next came our salads. I got a lovely spinach-blueberry salad with almonds and a sweet dressing, and Justin had a Caesar salad with honey balsamic dressing. I usually don't get into salads, but mine was really good.  Before the main course, they brought out the bread, and oh, was it delicious. It came with a freshly-mixed sweet butter. I wish I could tell you exactly what the bread was, but it reminded me of something between the texture of cornbread and French bread. It was thick but not too much, yet spongy too. Either way, I wish we had had more!

The main course for me was Shrimp Scampi Ravioli. The sauce wasn't too hot when you at it with the ravioli and shrimp, which I think means that it had a perfect balance. Justin ventured out and got the Cherry BBQ Duck Breast. We both liked it- in some ways it reminded me of the texture of squirrel or rabbit that I have had growing it. I don't think it was "gamey" though like some people say... anyway, it was good, and the sauce was tasty!! Justin's side of jalapeno cornbread stuffing had just a bit of kick, and the potatoes just the right amount of salt.

All in all, we would definitely go back again!! Try it out: http://www.228coco.com/

Fabric Paint Chair Revamp!

I snagged this chair at Valley Thrift store about a week ago for .69. That's right.... sixty-nine cents! Who priced this, I'm not sure, but it was destined to be mine. The only problem was that it was a little faded. I was sure I could find some fabric paint to spruce it up, and I did. Both Jo Ann's and Michael's carried Simply Spray fabric paint. After I cleared out Jo Ann's Blue Jay stock, I went to Michael's. (They actually had several other brands also, some that came in a pump bottle instead of a spray. I'm not sure how they would work but I just might try it sometime.)

On a technical note, I was super irritated because the spray kept jamming. I actually returned a bottle to the store because it sprayed for a whole two seconds and then didn't give me anything else!! Grrr! I ended up using about 6 bottles of the 2.5 oz size. With coupons and all, I think it cost me about $25 to change the color of the chair.

I think the key with this project was to stay in the same color family. For example, I wouldn't have tried to make the chair red- it might have ended up looking purple or something. So I really just brought the original color back to life. After taping off the wood framing that showed, I tried to saturate the chair as best I could, then let it dry. Once it dried I could see if I was uneven in any areas and spray again to cover better. The nice thing about this type of paint was that it doesn't need to heat set or be washed, so I works for a chair that can't go through the laundry!

You can see the before and after pictures below, and also a picture with the cushion turned over to see the difference. 

How to Distress a Dresser

A few years ago, I obtained a mid-century dresser as family hand-me-down. My Uncle Tim didn't have a place for it, and I needed a dresser in my spare room, so I snatched it up. Fast forward a few years, and our new house didn't have a place in our guest room for the dresser, so I decided to use it as a buffet in the dining room. I love it because it givens me lots of linen storage! However, with wood laminate floors and a wood table, I had too many wood finishes and wanted a the buffet to contrast more in the room (see pic on left). So I decided to paint and distress it. Here's how it worked.

First, I roughed up the original finish with sandpaper and removed the hardware. I had to use putty to fill in the holes from the hardware because we changed the knobs. Then, I painted a base coat of yellow paint (leftover from the kitchen) on the dresser. I made sure to have it plenty thick on the edges, because this is where I would be seeing it the most.

Next, I painted the top coat of a brownish-olive color that picks up some of the accents from the rest of the house and the green in the wall color. I did two coats of this. I used enamel from Sherwin-Williams, but next time I think I might try a different type because it wasn't super easy to scrub off for the distressing part.

Finally, I took sandpaper to the dried top coat along the edges and natural wear lines until I had as much yellow showing through as I wanted. I also used a "rough" paintbrush to give it wear on the top and sides since the enamel was pretty hard to distress on the flat surfaces. Sherwin-Williams has these 2-inch brushes for a buck that worked really well for this. 

To finish the piece, we put on new hardware from Lowe's. I didn't want it to look too new, so I rubbed paint over the pieces and then used a dry cloth to give it an aged affect. The knobs and handles were around $1 a piece, and the paint was about $15, so I did the whole dresser for about $25! Nice, right?

Colossal Coaster World VBS

Vacation Bible School was a blast, like always. DABC has quite a few children, and with visitors too, we hit 100 kids on Thursday night! It was an exciting time and I feel so blessed to be a part of it as the director. Everyone that helped, from snacks to games to lessons to music to decorations and everything in between, was incredible. There is always going to be things to do better next time, but I thought it was really a success. We had around 20+ unchurched visitors, and are following up with them now. I thought I would share a few pictures from the week, because they say it best!

Decorations

 

 Staff dinner

 Music

 Crafts

 Snacks

 Missions

 Drama team

 Games

 4's-K class

 Family night

 Our cotton candy makers!

 What a great week!

How to can green beans

Lately I've been canning lots of beans. You can't imagine the nostalgia that this brings about. Except now, I have to plant them, weed them, pick them, snap them, wash then, stuff them in jars, and monitor the pressure cooker all by myself. (Ok, take that back mom did get me started with the first canner) When I was a kid, dad, mom, Beth, me, and Zach all pitched in somehow, and the process seemed less tedious. Still, the work that goes into preserving beans is much more manageable than peas. The thing is, for the amount of pea pods that you pick, not many actually turn out, and it takes a lot longer to shell them! So back to the beans....

To can beans, you should first snap the ends off, in my opinion, and then break the bean into about a 2-3 inch portion so they fit into the jar. Once you have them down to size, you will need to rinse them in water several times to make sure that any dirt is gone. Very important step! Next, I recommend wide mouth Ball canning jars to store them in. Begin to put the beans into the jar, and then use the blunt end of a knife to pack them in as much as desired. (As a kid, we tried to pack them in good to get the most use out of the quart) Put one teaspoon of salt in each jar for flavoring, and wipe the rim of the jar clean of any water or salt.

Meanwhile, fill a stockpot with water and get it boiling. Concurrently, put three quarts of water in the pressure cooker and turn up the heat so it won't take as long to process once you get the jars ready.

In the stockpot of water, place as many lids as you will need into the water, as this helps get the seal ready. Leave them in for 5-10 minutes, then take them out and put them on the jars. Add and tighten the rings to help seal the lids before they go into the pressure cooker. Once the lids and rings are all on, place as many jars as will fit in your pressure cooker. (Mine holds 7 jars)

Place the lid on the pressure cooker. Once you feel steam coming out of the topper, set the timer for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, place the topper on and watch for the pressure gauge to rise to 15 units. Once it hits 15, set the timer for 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it, because you should adjust the burner heat if the pressure goes higher than 15 units. When the timer ends, turn the burner off and wait several hours at least for everything to cool.

Well, that certainly sounds like a long process, and it is in a way, but the more I do it, the faster it gets. The best part is having homegrown beans any time of the year, without all the extra crap that you find in store beans. They last a long time too! I'm pretty sure I've eaten beans from two or three years ago, and they tasted just the same. So it's worth it, for sure!!

Contentment

Sometimes, it is really hard to be content. Or, at least, to be content in all areas. I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately. Let me share some personal anecdotes.

In high school, and into college, I just thought my life would be complete with that special guy in it. You know, that perfect guy that I read about in my teen Christian romance novels (Christy Miller series, etc...) and assorted chick flicks that I watched at slumber parties. That one man would just sweep my off my feet and then my life would be complete!!

Then, after a few years, my husband and I began dating in college. (Check, I had the man). I think there is this six-month period of time when one is just happy at that stage. Then you keep thinking about the next... getting engaged... So we looked at rings, and I waited. All my friends were getting engaged. Hmph! When would it be my turn?

After a few more months, I was engaged. But now my friends were getting married. And oh, wouldn't life just be so much better if I was married already. But we have to wait almost two years till he finished school. By the time I was married, many of my friends had already been married for a year. Still, the newlywed stage held true and we were quite happy for a time.

Boy, wouldn't it be great own instead of rent? I can't paint the rental the colors I want, or change the landscaping much, and the kitchen is so small. Really, I'm sure I could find an affordable house with a better layout and location. Perhaps, a location back home. I'm so far away from home (in California) and I want to get back to Ohio. When will we be able to move back?

Finally, the jobs open up back in Ohio and we move. All our friends have kids. We don't. Is it time? Will having children make our life complete? Our niece and nephew are sure cute. We finally bought a house now, yep, renovated with our sweat and tears. But how great would it be to live in the country? We start a savings account for the "dream house" that we want to build someday for our (yet nonexistent) children to flourish in.

You see, and I'm being as honest as possible, it's so easy for me to be discontent were God had placed me. Yet He says, "godliness with contentment is great gain" in I Timothy 6:6. And isn't one of the commandments not to covet? As well as a host of other verses that I could look up on the topic. I need to find my sufficiency in Christ. I think as a woman perhaps this is even harder. I am grateful, so grateful, that God had given me contentment in many areas of my life. In others, I still struggle to be joyful in the place that I am in. Of course, I don't see anything wrong with working hard to earn a dream, but if you are like me, it can become a distraction and source of discontent if I am not careful. So if I ever seem like I have my head in the clouds on some dream, pull me back down and remind me of all of God's blessings in my life RIGHT NOW!

Our New {Custom} Dining Room Table, Part Three

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. My neighbor Bert is the best!! I posted previously about the start to our table, and below you will see the pictures of how it turned out. It's 8 feet long by 42 inches wide. There's a ton of room and it's great for guests. I really wanted benches also, so he made those too. Perhaps they aren't quite as convenient as chairs for getting in and out of, but they seat so many more and take up less space overall. We can always scoot end chairs up for more seating too. I love how the finish turned out, how the pegs look, and how I can prop my feet up under the table too. It's awesome, huh? (And sorry, but Bert's not making anymore. It was a one-time-only-deal.)

 By the way, those flowers are from my hubby for our 4th anniversary. Sheesh, has it really been four?? It has been a wonderful four years of growing together and experiencing life. I'd be lost without him and his undying love and support!