Monthly Archives: July 2020
Garage Sale Rusty Metal Tray Upcycle
This photo was actually taken two summers ago after an amazing garage sale score! I had stumbled upon this sale along a main road on my way home from getting groceries. It was already late afternoon, so they were beginning to clean-up, but I spotted the wrought iron plant holders and thought it was worth pulling over. You know what they say, timing is everything! By this point, they really just wanted the stuff gone…I got the entire table full of stuff, plus the two plant stands for $20. Unbelievable! Anyway, it took me some time to get to it, but I finally have this ugly old rusty metal tray in usable condition. When you calculate the cost for this, I’m guessing it was almost free as it was probably one of the least valuable items in this spree.
I gave the tray a bit of a sanding to remove the rusty spots and then simply spray painted it white. I did plan to distress it slightly, but didn’t actually realize that the floral decoration had a bit more dimension to it than I originally accounted for. When I finished painting it, you could kind of see the floral design showing through. I really had no choice but to sand over the design and see what I could do with it. So, although I had planned to hide the flowers with paint….I ended up highlighting them by sanding, and surprising love this finished look! I can’t actually believe the ugly flowers are what make this tray so amazing….this is now my favourite serving tray!!
The moral of this story….when garage selling and thrifting, always look for well made items made of wood, metal and glass. It is amazing what you can do with paint and sand paper! This upcycle even surprised me!
Sensational Salads #5: “To Toss or Not to Toss…Now that is the Question”
In doing this series of posts on salads, I thought it was worth some discussion on whether to toss a salad or not. So, here are my thoughts:
Why Toss:
- The flavour is more uniform as it permeates the entire body of the salad.
- It is nice to serve a salad that is already dressed and ready to go.
- I find that when you put the dressing on the table, it can add to clutter of items on the table and can sometimes be messy to serve, especially when it is not being squeezed from a store bought bottle of dressing. (I guess one advantage of store bought is that they tend to be less messy.)
Why You Might Decide Not to Toss:
- Once tossed, the salad really won’t keep well, so any leftovers are pretty much trash.
- Everyone has different preferences when it comes to salad dressing. Some prefer it bathing in dressing, while others (like my daughter) often opt for NO dressing at all. By serving the salad plain, each individual can decided how they would like to dress their own salad according to their own personal preferences.
- If you are watching calories, you might like more portion control when it comes to the dressing. Years ago, I learned a technique that actually works surprisingly well for this. Use an individual little cup (think shot glass size) and put your dressing into it. Instead of putting your dressing on your salad, dip your fork into your little cup of dressing before each bite. Although there is no dressing actually applied to the salad, it does give great flavour and keeps your dressing usage to a minimum. The down side is that whatever you don’t used has to be tossed and thus is wasted, but I guess better those calories in the trash than in your body if you are trying to cut them!
In the end, it really comes down to personal preference. I find that I change it up depending on who I am serving the salad to, what kind of salad it is and if there is the potential for leftovers. Here is what I tend to do:
- Very lightly toss the entire salad (or a portion of it I think there might be extra leftover). By tossing it with minimal dressing, I am getting the flavour throughout the salad, but know the dressing won’t be too heavy. I then serve a side of extra dressing for anyone who wants to add more.
- If I make a salad for myself (say pack it for lunch), I always take a little container and just pour it over the top. I don’t ever toss it. It just works for me.
- Some salads actually need to be tossed in the dressing to soften the flavours or textures in the salad. I feel like kale might fall into this category. I might have more tendency to toss if I have kale in a salad, as it can be bitter tasting.
By now you’ve realized that I never really answered the question, but have just given you some options to consider. Stay tuned for more great salad recipes!
Mystery Box Riddle #104
Sensational Salads #4: Our Family’s Favourite Salad
I came upon this recipe a few years ago and although I didn’t make-up the name for this salad, the title doesn’t disappoint. It is absolutely one of our favourites! I like to roast my own peppers and don’t always have artichokes on hand, so I do find it is a bit more of a “plan ahead” salad and thus I don’t make it as often as I’d like. This recipe for Our Family’s Favorite Salad is brought to you by Gimme Some Oven.
Our Family’s Favorite Salad
SALAD INGREDIENTS:
- 1 head red-leaf lettuce, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- (I am never too particular about the greens I use in my salads and will sometimes just opt for the store bought “Spring Mix” in lieu of above or just use a mixture or what I have on hand)
- 1/2 red onion, peeled and thinly-sliced
- 2 (14 ounce) jars quartered artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped (I only use one but this is just personal preference)
- 1 (12 ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained and diced (I prefer OVEN roasting my own peppers! It is simple to do and can be done ahead of time. Here is a simple tutorial. One pepper is probably enough, but I would roast two and then decided if it looks like too much and if it does, just store the extra in the fridge for your next salad, pizza topping or omelette!)
- 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts*
- 1 batch zesty red wine vinaigrette (See below)
- optional garnish: extra freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
Place the ingredients in a large bowl and toss. Serve immediately, garnished with extra Parmesan cheese, if desired.
ZESTY RED WINE VINAIGRETTE INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano is super yummy!!)
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil (I sometimes substitute with avocado oil)
- 1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, store-bought or homemade
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Place all of the ingredients in a jar and shake like crazy! Toss in salad and serve immediately.*
*Pine nuts can be pricey and I fine them to be quite bland. I will use them if I have them on hand, but will throw in other nuts or seeds when I don’t. I really like the salad with pistachios! We buy a large bag at Costco, so I pretty much always have them on hand. So yummy!!
Simple Upcycle: Sofa Feet Turned to Tiered Pillar Candle Holders
A few years ago, I salvaged some old couch feet. I immediately saw the potential to stack the short stubby feet and make a set of tiered candle holders. Despite the fact that I knew this would be a super easy project, I had them stored with my other “to do” materials for close to two years. I finally took them out during Covid.
This project was so simple to do and cost next to nothing to pull off.
Stay tuned….as part of my front porch project, I recently made a welcome sign for our entrance. You can see a hint of it behind the candles!
Mystery Box Riddle #103
Upcycled Garden Decor #2: DIY Picket Fence
As mentioned in a previous post, the lush green vine that completely encompasses our fence is quite lovely, but also over powering. This spring, I decided that we needed to break-up the vine/green with some yard decor. There were hardly any stores open at that point (due to Covid), so I decided to look through what we already had on hand. Some of the items were set to be listed on Kijiji while others were awaiting projects or their final resting place in the landfill. Amongst our stash, I found the old spindles from our stair case make over last summer. As I walked past them, I was immediately struck with an idea! (My husband has grown to hate when that happens because my ideas often involve him!)
I love this upcycle project! It was relatively simple to do and I am quite pleased with the result! In the end, this didn’t end up being my project at all as my hubby did the whole thing…I guess you could just say I was the brains behind it!