Oven-roasted Vegetables and Meat

This has become one of my new favorite meals. It's super simple, healthy, and quick to make!

Preheat your oven to about 225 C (430 F).

First you need vegetables. Either fresh or frozen work just fine. Frozen vegetables tend to have more vitamins in them due to them being flash-frozen shortly after being picked, as opposed to "fresh" vegetables we buy in the store, which have been transported halfway around the country, if not the world, and can take up to weeks from picking to eating.

Anyways, put your vegetables in a 9x13 inch (23x33 cm) baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

The next step is to sear your meat over high heat. Don't cook it fully, just brown it. Here I've used beef, spiced up with a little pepper and paprika.

The last step is to simply place your meat upon the vegetables, then set the whole thing in the oven. Wait 30 minutes, then enjoy a simple, delicious, healthy meal!

The Second Cup -- Finale

Now the cup is finally done sanding, so now it's on to staining the cup. Since the cup is going to be used for drinking from, we need a natural stain; Olive oil works perfectly for this!

First, just pour some olive oil on the cup, and spread it around using your fingers. I suppose you could use a paint brush, but olive oil is so good for your skin, so why pass up the opportunity? It's obvious where the oil has stained already, so just make sure to spread it evenly around the whole cup.

Next is to stain the inside of the cup. Pour some olive oil in, then work it in with your fingers. Don't be shy with the amount of olive oil you use, it's amazing how much the wood absorbs. Keep adding layers of olive oil until you have about 5 layers, letting it "dry" each time in between layers.

Here you can see I just added another layer of olive oil, but it's already being absorbed on the front side. Don't forget the handle holes, by the way!

So now, the cup is essentially finished, it just needs another layer or two of olive oil, then it's ready for use! Perfect for trips in the woods, coffee for deer hunting, water when hiking, or just standing for show.

Samsung Note 10.1 Tattoo Tutorial

Ok, so I'm trying to learn Photoshop Touch, which is supposed to be easier than Photoshop, but there is not a single help button to be found (at least not in any reasonably-accessible place). I started messing around with the tutorials, which were not quite so helpful themselves, either skipping steps, or forgetting to add buttons for other steps. But, despite all the hardship, I found one tutorial so far that's worked for me, so I thought I'd share it with you! Please please PLEASE excuse the horrible pink house-shoes I'm wearing!

I really want a new tattoo, and this time I'm thinking of Backwards Bill by Shel Silverstein. Backwards Bill means a lot to me, because he does everything backwards, yet somehow succeeds. I feel this reflects a bit on my own life, but also I love horses...so Backwards Bill it is!

For this assignment you need Photoshop Touch, preferably for Samsung Note 10.1. The opening screen looks like this:

There's a tiny little button on the bottom right, which is for adding pictures to work with. I've highlighted it in the picture above.

The next step is to take a picture of the body part you want your "tattoo" on. I chose my ankle.

Now you need to add a new layer, which is the small plus sign to the bottom right. Chose "Photo Layer", then chose the tattoo/drawing of your liking. This will transpose the tattoo image on top of your body. At this point you may resize and readjust the tattoo image to your liking. 

Here you can see the tattoo image is clearly too big for my ankle. Now it's simply to use the dots on the corners to scale the image to the right size. Don't forget to place your tattoo in the right spot now, also, as you won't be able to move it later. When you're all finished resizing and readjusting, click "Done".

Next we have to work on our tattoo image to make sure it looks all right after post-processing. Select the top-most picture on your right (in this case, the one above my leg, or the tattoo picture itself). This is the layer we're going to be working with. We're going to have to use the Effects setting, and use the sharpen function to make the lines more crisp. This makes for clearer lines on the final picture. The Effect settings are to be found here:

After you've sharpened the outline of your tattoo image, it's time to blend the white background in with your skin color. 

For this we need to press the button beside the plus sign on the bottom right, I have no idea what it's supposed to be, and neither does it have a name. In this mode you have two choices: Opacity, and Blend Mode. First, set Blend Mode to darken. Then, play around with the Opacity until the "tattoo" looks natural to you (usually around 70%, but I like it closer to 100%).

There you have it, instant tattoo!

A Tribute to Shel Silverstein

Shel Silverstein was an American poet and author of children's books, as well as illustrator, among other things. I grew up reading his books, and have been fascinated by them ever since. He gives such meaning to his poems, often hidden messages, life-lessons as it were. So, in honor of my favorite American poet, I give you a tribute to Shel Silverstein.

Backwards Bill

 Sometimes I feel like Backwards Bill, doing everything a little bit different from the rest of the population. But hey, it's all good!

 Great advice!

 I think all women feel this way sometimes, we just need to be told how wonderful we are...as long as it's the truth!

Such great advice in this day and age, where we're practically force-fed thoughts, ideas, and ideologies.

Imagine being happy all the time...Here's a quote from Butters from South Park to make you feel better:
"Well yeah, and I'm sad, but at the same time I'm really happy that something could make me feel that sad. It's like, it makes me feel alive, you know? It makes me feel human. And the only way I could feel this sad now is if I felt somethin' really good before. So I have to take the bad with the good, so I guess what I'm feelin' is like a, beautiful sadness. I guess that sounds stupid."

"How much love inside a friend? Depends how much you give 'em."

Wouldn't that be wonderful, just take all your stress and worries from the day and remove it from your head for someone else to worry about?

Wedding Flowers

A picture from our wedding that I was able to first turn black and white, then "uncolor" the flowers, using a new program for my computer.

Homemade Lemonade

Now that winter is approaching, I crave a reminiscence of summer in the form of homemade Lemonade! So here's how you do it, it's easier than you'd think, and much better than the frozen concentrate stuff!

First you need lemons, 7 lemons if they're medium-to-large size, 9-10 if they're smallish. Roll those lemons under the palm of your hand until they're soft, like shown in the photo above. This helps release the juices, making your lemonade even more lemony.

Now you need 1 cup (250 ml) of water, and 1 cup (250 ml) sugar. Put them together in a little pan, and turn on medium-low heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to let cool.

...lemon guts...

Now cut those lemons in half, and juice away! We have a little juicing machine, the white part on top spins so the machine does all the work for you.

Pour the lemon juice into a 1.5 liter bottle (50 fl oz), along with the cooled sugar water. Using a funnel helps from spilling. You may also use a big pitcher; I just don't own one, so I use a bottle.

Put the lid on and shake shake shake, shake shake shake, shake your booty...um, I mean lemonade! Now chill for at least 30 minutes, then enjoy!

Pizza -- Norwegian style

 First step in making pizza is making your pizza dough, though I was lazy again and used store-bought dough. I decided to stuff the short ends with cheese, and the long ends with strips of cheese left to melt along the edges to give a crispier crust. This is a hefty pizza, so beware!

What you'll need is this:
1 Pizza crust
pizza sauce
400 g ground beef (a little under a pound), browned
1 medium onion, sauteed
1 small leek, thinly sliced
lots of shredded cheese (at least 2 cups)
cheese 'sticks' for filling crust (optional)
basil
oregano

Next you'll want to fry the ground beef up in a skillet. When it's good and browned, spread the beef evenly over the pizza dough.

Now it's time for some sauteed onions! We love onions, so we used the whole onion. Feel free to use 1/2 an onion if this looks like too much for you. On top of the onions comes the sliced leeks, raw to give extra crunch and flavor.

Pour the sauce over the top of the whole thing, it will sink down to the bottom of the crust as it cooks, just be sure to spread it as evenly as possible.

Cover with cheese, and sprinkle a few more slices of leek on top. Sprinkle with basil and oregano to taste.
The outcome: a deliciously filling pizza, guaranteed to leave leftovers!

Mmmmm, cheesy pizza!

The Second Cup -- Part 4

Today we found a new attachment for the ball drill, which was something like sandpaper, used for shining wood. I tried it on the inside of my cup, and with only 10 minutes work on the machine I saved myself at least 3-4 hours of hand sanding. I still had to sand the inside of the cup afterwards to make the last little rough spots go away, but this machine really did a lot of work for me!

Here the cup is finished on the inside, so now I have to work on sanding down the outside with fine sandpaper. This goes pretty fast, as the outside of the cup is easier to work on than the inside. I sanded the outside for about 1 hour today.

The next step is to drill holes in the handle. You can see in the picture above that the handle is the only thing left I haven't sanded, and that's because you have to drill the holes first in case of chipping. Also, you would essentially be sanding it twice since the insides of the holes themselves need sanding.

After the holes were drilled, I used the little belt sander to shape out the handle as I wanted it. I decided to put a bit of a rounded edge on the sides, which proved much harder than I thought. It's nearly impossible to get both sides even, at least with the little experience I have. When it was as good as I could get it, it was on to hand sanding again, this time the insides of the holes. This is my least favorite part, because I always end up scraping my weak, "pretty" knuckles, or get slivers!

Now the cup is very nearly finished, only a little more hand sanding to smooth out the rough edges, and then it's on to staining. It should be finished next week, making this a record-fast cup for me (under 14 hours work)!

The Second Cup -- Part 3

Snowy greens

 Today my walk was graced with snow, but you could still spot a few signs here and there of the passing seasons. When I got to the workshop, I worked for about 1 hour on the sanding machine, then spent the rest of the time sanding by hand, before venturing out into the snow again.

This is the sanding machine I was using today. There are two sanding options, the wheel on the right, and the belt on the left. I decided to use the belt and platform to finish shaping the outside of my cup.

I love this orange table!

Almost finished on the outside, you can see I was a little reckless and cut too deeply into the one side. This also happens to be when I broke the sand paper on the belt, so we had to fix that, too.

Now I need to use the huge belt sander from last week to finish off the bottom, rounding out the sides as you can see they're uneven. I forgot to take a picture when it was done...oops!

You can see a bit more of the outside, I've finished it off. Now it's on to hand sanding the inside, which takes longer than the rest of the cup. Didn't someone once say "patience is a virtue"?

Flesk og Duppe -- Salted Side Pork with Gravy

Tonight we had a craving for some traditional Norwegian food. Now, usually that means white food: boiled potatoes, white sauce, and some sort of fish or meat. It even tastes white, meaning bland. But sometimes the Norwegians get somethings right in the kitchen, and Flesk og Duppe is one of those meals.

If you like bacon, you'll like tonight's dinner; salted side pork with gravy, served with boiled potatoes and oven roasted carrots.

 First you'll have to get a hold of some salt pork. Your butcher should be able to help you out, otherwise if absolutely necessary you can use thick-sliced bacon. The only difference between salt pork and bacon is that bacon is also smoked in addition to being salted. If your meat does not come already sliced, throw it in the freezer for about 15 minutes before trying to cut it, it will be much easier to cut.

Next you have to bring a big pot of water to a boil for your potatoes. Throw them in and cook until they are tender, usually around 30 minutes.

The carrots are next. Take a big sheet of tin foil, and fold it in half so it's doubled up. Then place your carrots on the tin foil, drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and they're ready to go in the oven at 200 C or about 390 F. Bake them for about 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of your carrot chunks. I used baby carrots because I'm lazy!

You will also want to make a Bechamel sauce (white sauce) at this point. Take 2 tablespoons butter and melt it in a saucepan. Add 2 tablespoons flour and stir until it's all clumpy. Add 1 cup warmish milk (not cold, but not hot; room temp is fine), and stir to a boil. Keep stirring frequently as it simmers for 5-10 minutes, or until it's good and thick. I like to make my sauce over medium temperature, to prevent it from burning to the bottom of my thin pot, but it takes a lot longer.

Fry up your salt pork in a hot pan, just as you would bacon. It's done when it's golden on both sides. The next step may be hard for some of you, but it's a crucial step. Pour the fat from the pan into the white sauce, and stir. If you didn't get very much fat, throw 2 tablespoons butter into the frying pan, scraping up the tasty burnt-on bits, and pour that into the sauce as well. Add a dash of pepper. Taste the sauce, it should be a touch salty when it's done.

BLT's with a Twist

Everyone gets a craving for bacon sometimes, and that time is now! So here's my BLT with a twist!

Mmmmmm, bacon

It's a really simple twist, but it's also really good. Simply make your BLT inside a pita! Cut your pita in half so you can open it up like a sandwich, but don't cut the pita all the way through. You want some pita left intact in the bottom to keep your sandwich from falling apart.

Fill your pita with a lot of lettuce, some tomato, and some bacon. We used this much bacon for two pitas, but I recommend you use more. The more the better, actually! Then simply enjoy your dinner, reveling in the bacon-y goodness.

Yummers!

Beef with Vegetables

For dinner I decided to use my new pan I received from a store after having a horrible experience there, then complaining. We were craving beef, so we decided on some stir-fry with lots of vegetables. I'll show you all the steps, with all the pictures, so you can make it at home, just as you like it!

Orange "eco-friendly" OBH-Nordica ceramic pan

 I had to find some really good, fresh vegetables, something which can be difficult to find in the small town I live in. So naturally I ended up at the most expensive store in town, but it was worth it! I decided on green and orange peppers, red onion, tomato, and a leek, along with a small cut of tender steak (mørbradbiff).

The supplies, alongside a 5" utility knife

First, chop, chop, chop, until everything looks like this:

Throw the green and orange peppers, and onion into the pan over medium-high heat.

Gimme meat!

Then, slice up your beef into small strips, so it looks like this:

When the onions begin to go limp (after about 2-3 minutes, if your pan is hot enough), make room in the center for your meat. Don't stir quite yet, let the meat lose most of it's pink.

The meat is not-quite pink anymore, so now I stirred it all up. Next step is to throw the leek and tomato into the pan.

Even if you don't like tomatoes, don't be afraid to try them in this dish! Just choose a small tomato and chop it finely; it will disappear and become part of the sauce, which adds excellent flavor.

When the tomatoes are hard to find, and the vegetables are cooked to your liking, take out some soy sauce. Pour as much or as little as you like. Start out with a little though...you can always add more, but never take away! Then throw a teaspoon of sugar into the pan and stir like you're mad.

If you like them, put some water chestnuts in for some great crunch. Wait until after you've added the soy sauce, though, because you're not going to cook them, just heat them up.

If you like, you can go to your local Asian foods store and find some Thai chicken-flavored powder. The package I have looks like this:

The chicken flavored powder is not necessary, but it does add some flavor. Use about 1.5-2 tablespoons.

Are you hungry yet? Enjoy!